Residents have spoken of their anger after large piles of nitrous oxide gas canisters were found in a car park over the weekend.
Residents have blasted the culprits who have left canisters strewn across the car park next to the Factory Shop in Glebe Street, Great Harwood.
A ‘disgusted’ resident spotted the canisters scattered around the car park on the morning of Sunday, October 9.
She said: “It’s been happening on there most nights, but weekends are the worst.
"Cars in the car park have been blasting music at midnight and driving round like idiots.
“The argument that they’re young doesn’t matter because they’re not kids.
“Something should be done to catch or stop them for using the car park for this reason.”
It's illegal to sell or give away canisters of nitrous oxide for recreational use as a psychoactive substance.
It carries risks of death from oxygen deprivation, and prolonged use can cause anaemia, nerve damage and paralysis.
Another resident shared this has been an ongoing issue as just the week before, he spent time collecting and recycling 20 canisters that he found littered.
One said: “I’ve complained about this many timed, loud music blasting from cars, people shouting doing this stupid thing and keeping my kids awake but nothing gets done about it.”
Some residents mentioned a lack of skate parks, playgrounds or youth centres may be the reason young people are resorting to gathering in car parks late at night.
Responding to the locals’ concerns, Councillor Noordad Aziz said: “Disposed nitrous oxide canisters seems to be a growing blight on streets exponentially.
"It seems to be used by people very freely and that for me is a great concern.
“I have written to government about the ease of accessibility of the canisters to purchase these over the internet, unfortunately it’s not led to a review into how they are obtained much to my disappointment.
“Lack of children's activities due to Conservative austerity over the past decade has created an environment where young people are disenfranchised, leading them to seek to occupy their time with other activities, and that for me needs addressing as a matter of priority.”
Councillor Jodi Clements has also highlighted certain problem areas to the police, who have stated they will be increasing patrols at night around Glebe Street.
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