ONE of Bournemouth’s MPs is pressing the government over so-called legal highs.

Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, said new figures showed their use had risen dramatically over the past two years.

The government is looking to tighten the current laws to make the production and sale of such drugs more difficult.

They are often sold in shops as fertiliser or bath salts, for example.

Mr Burns has now written to a Home Office minister to ask what action is being taken to alter laws to make it easier to class rapidly-emerging new substances as automatically illegal.

He said: “Legal highs are extremely worrying and with their consumption on the rise, tougher action needs to be taken.

“I am strongly behind tougher legislation for legal highs and am currently looking into the current legislative proposals for controlling these drugs.

“I will continue to work on making these dangerous substances illegal,” the Bournemouth MP said.

Mr Burns has since been told by the Home Office that it is working to introduce controls.