Skips full of laughing gas canisters recovered in Notting Hill Carnival cleanup

Skips full of laughing gas canisters were collected in the cleanup following Notting Hill Carnival. Footage taken on Monday (25 August), the final day of the three-day event celebrating Caribbean culture in west London, shows large skips full to the brim with canisters of nitrous oxide. The law was updated in 2023 to make possession of nitrous oxide illegal if it is, or is likely to be, wrongfully inhaled, by classifying it as a Class C drug. It is a criminal offence to be found in possession of laughing gas where its intended use is to be inhaled “to get high.” During this year’s event, the Metropolitan Police arrested a total of 423 people - 223 on Monday, as well as 200 on Sunday. The force said they saw “fewer incidents of serious violence than in recent years”.