PARENTS are concerned after a group of schoolgirls were seen “inhaling aerosols” in the town centre.

A post in a community group on Facebook said the group of girls from a Colchester school, who were about 14 years old, were seen outside Topshop in Lion Walk on Thursday.

Parents of children at the school in question were shocked at the news and asked any witnesses to get in touch with the school to help raise awareness.

Danielle Clarkson witnessed the incident. She said: “It was about 5pm and I was at work. I heard a lot of laughing and looked up to see a group of girls, which is nothing unusual.

“I then spotted four of them with two cans of aerosol, sharing them and spraying them into their mouths and noses.

“They would sometimes do it through a sports sock. They were loud and were laughing, they were not trying to hide it.”

She said the cans looked plain white but the substance they were using is unknown.

Danielle, who has daughters of her own, said she would be contacting the school.

She said: “I just felt shock and disgust. I remember being at school when Leah Betts died and that is something that’s always stuck with me.

“Having two daughters myself I would be more than furious if they had such blatant disregard for their lives.”

Leah Betts was a schoolgirl from Latchingdon who died taking ecstasy after her 18th birthday in 1995.

A parent, who has a daughter at the school and works as a senior healthcare assistant in a children's hospital, said she sees the dangers of drug and solvent abuse first hand.

She said: “The children don't realise the buzz they may experience can cause the heart to beat so fast and give them a heart attack.

“It’s so dangerous and can kill instantly.”

A number of parents on social media said they had made the school aware.

The school was contacted and the Gazette was informed the incident will be looked into.

A spokesman from Open Road, a charity providing support for individuals affected by drugs and alcohol in Colchester, warned of the dangers.

She said: “Aerosol use can be very dangerous as you are using volatile substances. They can make you feel quite unwell and there is a high risk as a little too much can result in a coma or death.

“There is no safe way to use aerosols.”

We have decided not to name the school until it has fully resolved the matter.