NEW laws to crack down on the sale of so called legal highs will protect the public from the potentially fatal consequences of the drugs, a Home Office minister has said.

Lord Bates said the Psychoactive Substances Bill, which is being debated in Parliament for the first time, would help to end a "reckless" trade.

Under the Bill sellers of "hippy crack" - also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas - and other legal highs will face up to seven years in prison.

The legislation, which follows a similar move in Ireland, introduces a blanket ban on the production, distribution, sale and supply of legal highs - officially known as new psychoactive substances (NPSs) - after they were linked to scores of deaths.

More than 500 new drugs have been banned by the Government but the current system is seen as laborious as substances have to be assessed individually before they can be outlawed and manufacturers often produce new versions almost immediately after a previous form has been prohibited.