'Dangerous laughing gas' bottles flogged online after student's death

Reckless online sellers are offering to deliver canisters of potentially fatal 'laughing gas' within just 20 minutes, a probe has found.

The alarming trade was discovered after an inquest into the death of Ellen Mercer, 24, who died following dangerous nitrous oxide binges.

The student had used 600g bottles - equal to 75 of the more common 8g bottles - after purchasing them online.

The Mirror can reveal that brazen dealers are now peddling the drug on social media with some even offering a 24/7 delivery service.

Possessing laughing gas to get high became a crime last year with the substance made a Class C drug.

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But traders get around the law by claiming they sell it for use by the catering industry. Many canisters carry the phrase "not for human consumption".

The Mirror found traders using Instagram accounts to sell the gas in London, Manchester and across the UK. One, under the moniker Mr Whippy, vowed to deliver from 10am to 1am weekdays, and until 4am on weekends.

Punters are brazenly told they can buy one big bottle, known as a "Whip" for £20 and two for £30. Whip refers to the drug's legitimate legal use for whipping cream.

Another trader in Manchester is offering "20 min drops" with "Free and Fast Delivery". The sales make a mockery of legal bids to stop it being sold as a party drug.

Last night Dr Niall Campbell, lead addiction consultant at The Priory Roehampton, was horrified at our findings.

He said: "I'm alarmed that it is so easily accessible and the risk and danger it poses. I'm alarmed at the number of people who really, really like it who end up alone, addicted."

One treated by his service used 18 canisters a day. And another was admitted after her mother found her lying in bed sucking on a giant canister "like a baby's bottle". "We see significant numbers of these people," Dr Campbell added.

"It can lead to psychosis, delusional side effects and physical -problems."

Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, is known as NOS and was at one point one of the most-used drugs by UK 16 to 24-year-olds.

Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals, said they had seen a drop in patients since last summer.

But he feared people were not reporting the use of nitrous oxide because they feared a criminal record.

The new laws were not in place when tragic Ellen, of Gerrards Cross, Bucks, fell into a spiral of addiction. Her boyfriend said she would inhale the gas until she passed out.

Her inquest in Reading heard she was taken to hospital in February last year after falling over but could not be saved. Instagram was approached for comment.

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