IT is truly frightening that according to police and trading standards children as young as 12 are descending on Blackburn at weekends to spend hours in illegal shisha dens.

The dangers are obvious.

As well as the safety risks, and particularly the possibility of fires, in unchecked back-street buildings, there are the obvious health dangers of youngsters inhaling unfiltered tobacco for several hours at a time in a room filled with others doing the same.

There is also the fact that once out of sight and ‘off the radar’ these children could so easily be introduced to drugs by unscrupulous individuals who are apparently already taking their pocket and birthday money on a regular basis.

It doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination either to speculate about the moral dangers that could lurk in these dens.

Ultimately of course parents should make it their business to know how and where their children are spending their money.

Police and trading standards need to bring offenders to court and close down these dens as soon as possible.

Until they do mums and dads need to be extra vigilant.