Fear over huge rise in 'hippy crack' addiction

THE number of people seeking help for "hippy crack" addiction has rocketed by 234 percent in the first three months of the year.

- Dominik Lemanski

And experts say the figures for those looking to wean themselves off nitrous oxide the most commonly used drug among 16 to 24-year-olds after cannabis - are just a taste of what is to come.

Data compiled by specialists at the UK Addiction Treatment Group show between January 1 and March 29, 760 people visited their help page. This compares to just 227 people this time last year.

Of those seeking help, 60 percent were women, with the majority of traffic coming from London, Edinburgh, and Manchester.