A 12-year-old girl has spoken of her disgust after she discovered a car park in Cirencester littered with rubbish including 50 ‘laughing gas’ canisters.

Heather Kent was joined by her mum, grandmother and friend Pauline Farman to litter pick.

At the weekend they dedicated their time to helping clean the streets of Cirencester.

On Saturday Heather discovered the used gas canisters by the car park opposite Burford Road, near the A419 services, next to the Travelodge in Cirencester.

The metal containers are commonly used by people who inhale nitrous oxide, known as ‘laughing gas’. This is known to cause a high often leaving the user feeling relaxed and in fits of laughter.

But nitrous oxide can be fatal, with experts saying people who take too much can fall unconscious and suffocate from the lack of oxygen.

Heather said she was concerned that people not much older than her have been known to use ‘laughing gas’.

“People are risking their lives for only a few minutes of a ‘good feeling’”, she said.

“I want people to know the serious health risks they are taking both in the short and long term.

“The canisters are not made for that purpose and I have learnt through my litter picking experiences the dangers they have.”

She said she was also worried that animals could be at risk of harm by accidentally swallowing one.

Heather and her mother, Julie, who live in Fairford, often dedicate their spare time to cleaning up litter in Cirencester.

They were joined by Heather’s grandmother and neighbour Pauline, who lives in Perrott’s Brook, on Saturday, when they also cleaned up more litter and collected 11 bin liners of rubbish by the same car park and recycled what they could.

Heather said: “People need to open their eyes to the reality of our world and dispose of rubbish properly.”

She also thanked the Travelodge staff for cleaning up the car park.

Heather has been cleaning up litter in Cirencester since 2018.

She was inspired after watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet on BBC and general news coverage of environemental issues.

Julie said: “Heather wanted to do something locally, so she started to litter pick during Lent in 2018, and after that she just didn’t want to give it up.”