Legal highs could be banned and people caught using them fined in Redbridge, it was announced today (August 25).

Starting last Monday (August 17), Lambeth became the first London borough to ban the use of legal highs including nitrous oxide.

A legal high is a substance with stimulant or mood-altering properties.

The south London council approved a "Public Spaces Protection Order" to ban the use and supply of legal highs in public areas across the whole borough.

Anyone caught breaching the new order could face a maximum fine of £1,000.

Now Redbridge council’s leader, Labour councillor Jas Athwal, said he is considering following Lambeth’s lead at a local forum meeting at Fullwell Cross Library, in High Street, Barkingside.

Cllr Athwal said: “I am looking at measures other boroughs are using to tackle this issue and am judging what the best way to deal with the dangers is.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel in what we implement but just make sure we prioritise the health of Redbridge residents.

“If neighbouring boroughs are doing something we can easily plagiarise then we would consider it.

“If it is going to save someone’s life then we can’t do it quickly enough.”