STAFF were forced to close a council-run youth club for the first time in Blackburn because teenagers on ‘legal highs’ became uncontrollable.

In the latest incident in East Lancashire involving the dangerous substances, a session for 13 to 19-year-olds at Accrington Road Community Centre was shut an hour early for the safety of up to 20 youngsters in attendance.

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The incident in March was only disclosed to Blackburn with Darwen full Council Forum last week by Shadsworth with Whitebirk councillor Tony Humphrys.

He revealed children as young as 10 in his ward were obtaining the ‘legal highs’ from local shops or the internet.

Borough public health boss Dominic Harrison joined Cllr Humphrys in warning the untested chemical substances could be worse than the glue sniffing epidemic that killed 1,700 teenagers in Britain and Ireland in the 1980s.

On March 9, 20 teenagers were at the council-run youth club when a small group began behaving disruptively and became hard for staff to manage.

Youth club bosses spoke to the youngsters who said they had taken so-called ‘legal highs’ and decided to close the session at 8.30pm, which normally runs until 9.30 pm, to ensure the safety of other teens.

Council officials and police have stepped up efforts to tackle the problem of the substances being sold in the area and prevent under-18’s obtaining them.

Last week it emerged a 14-year-old girl became ill after using the so-called ‘legal high’ Vertex in Barnoldswick leading to police warnings about the dangers of the substance, which resembles cannabis, and is marked as ‘not fit for human consumption’.

Earlier this month, it was revealed the number of police incidents involving so-called legal highs in Lancashire had tripled in the last year to 347 cases in 2014 from 117 the year before and just eight in 2010.

Blackburn with Darwen youth services boss Damian Talbot said: “This is the first time our staff have had to close a youth club because of legal highs.

“The staff took the decision to ensure the safety of the young people there, some of whom were upset by the behaviour of a small group.

“This group were clearly high and their behaviour had become unpredictable and disruptive.

“Youth service staff act before such situations actually become dangerous.”

Cllr Humphrys told the Council Forum: “I am very concerned there is no age limit for the sale of legal highs as there is for the sale of alcohol or cigarettes.

“They recently had to close Accrington Road youth club because there were children on legal highs.”

Cllr Humphrys, who informed police and council officials, said he knew of children as young as 10 being sold the legal highs by local shops.

He said: “These so-called ‘legal highs’ could be more dangerous than the deadly glue-sniffing epidemic of the 1980’s.”

A Blackburn with Darwen council spokesman said: “A session at Accrington Road Community Centre was closed early due to disruption. We suspect that the use of legal highs contributed to this disruption.”

Cllr Talbot said: “The youth club was closed by staff after a risk assessment because some of those present had apparently taken legal highs.

“There is a problem with under-18 getting hold of these substances, which I prefer to call ‘harmful highs’, and their sale to under 18s needs banning whether they are classified as drugs or not.”

Borough public health director Dominic Harrison said: “This is something we are taking very seriously.

“Their effects of these drugs are largely unknown, which makes them very dangerous.

“Some young people have become seriously ill after using them, while others have got involved in anti-social behaviour.”

Sgt Jon Cisco, said: “We do have a problem with under 18s and legal highs in Audley, Shadsworth and Whitebirk but there are similar problems elsewhere in the borough.

“We work closely with the council and shopkeepers but the the problem is worsened because these substances can be obtained on the internet and on the street. We are taking this problem very seriously.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police confirmed there was no legal minimum age to buy such substances because of their constantly changing chemical composition, adding: “Sadly there are clever people out there making a lot of money by selling drugs under the misnomer ‘legal highs’ which may in fact pose a risk to people’s health. “ Council public protection chief Tony Watson said: “We’re being proactive in working to educate local retailers selling these products about what it is they’re selling and the related harms.”