Metal canisters used for taking nitrous oxide lined a car park next to a children's play area yesterday.

Around 500 canisters were dumped at Larkfield recreation ground off New Hythe Lane, sparking a warning from Chatham and Aylesford's MP.

Borough councillor Mike Parry-Waller's wife spotted the haul at around 6am on Sunday.

He said: "Once my wife told me I went out with my neighbour and cleaned it up.

"We were using snow shovels and pickers, there's a big play area for children there which is why I cleaned it up quickly.

"There must've been at least 20 dog walkers there as well, there's a big risk a dog could swallow one."

Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch issued a warning after the discovery.

She said: "There have been over 20 deaths from inhaling large amounts of N2O and there was a recent news report about a driver who killed someone while high on laughing gas.

"So not only is it dangerous to the person using these canisters but I am also worried that these canisters will be picked up by children, attracted to the shiny shell that is discarded. They are also a danger to wildlife and the environment."

Michael Morris, of Broad Road, Swanscombe was jailed in April after killing two men in a car crash.

The court heard Morris had taken nitrous oxide, also known as laughing has, behind the wheel moments before the crash.

Laughing gas was made illegal to sell for the purpose of getting a high under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016,

However the cannisters are also used in the production of whipped cream and are readily available online.

Last year two attempted prosecutions for the sale of laughing gas collapsed, however the Home Office maintained its sale was still illegal if intended for drug misuse.

On Friday police seized 1,824 cannisters of nitrous oxide while arresting two teenagers in Swalecliffe, near Whitstable.

Both were released under investigation.