A MAJOR crackdown on deadly so called ‘legal highs’ which have killed Hampshire youngsters or left them seriously ill has been spearheaded by top police chiefs.

The county’s Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes is backing the week-long campaign exposing the dangers of taking New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).

He is launching the Lethal Highs initiative – a seven day campaign in partnership with the Youth Commission – educating youngsters of the perils of taking NPS and urging them to spread the word amongst their friends and peers.

The ban – which is likely to come in early next year – comes after our campaign calling for tougher laws, vendors and sellers to be held to account and tighter controls to stop youngsters buying dangerous substances over the counter.

The PCC and Youth Commission initiative is part of the Be Part of the Solution campaign and calls on young people to spread the word of lethal highs sold in both head shops and online.

They are urging youngsters to complete a survey, watch and share a number of hard-hitting videos highlighting the and dangers and use #lethalhighs on Twitter.

Mr Hayes, who has regularly campaigned for a ban, said “The number of deaths related to these substances is increasing year on year, A clear message needs to be sent out that just because these substances are sold as legal this doesn’t mean they are safe.”

Youth Commission spokesman Louis Faith said: “NPS are more of a ‘gateway’ drug than any another substance. There are so many different types and just a small amount could harm your body because of all the bad chemicals they contain. I hope the Lethal Highs campaign will discourage young people from taking them.”

Hampshire Constabulary’s Detective Chief Inspector Ellie Hurd said tackling legal high use is a priority and said: “Consumption of NPS can cause serious physical and mental illness and even death.

"It is associated with increased anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence and NPS supply also has links to other crime types such as child sexual exploitation and other serious and organised crime.”