Journalists from a regional newspaper group have presented a government minister with a dossier outlining the dangers of legal highs as part of an ongoing campaign against substance abuse.

The KM Group’s High Time campaign has been calling for clearer warnings on packaging and tougher ID checks before legal highs are sold over the counter.

It follows a series of high-profile incidents in Kent where teenagers have been hospitalised after taking the substances.

The campaign has run across KM Group’s newspapers, websites and kmfm radio stations and has received backing from MPs Tracey Crouch and Julian Brazier.

The KM Group journalists present Mr Baker with the dossier. Pictured from left are Tracey Crouch MP, Nicola Everett, Norman Baker, Kiran Kaur and Sir Julian Brazier MP.

KM Group reporter Kiran Kaur and kmfm news editor Nicola Everett handed the dossier to Home Office minister Norman Baker at the Hosue of Commons.

The minister confirmed it will be fed into a government review which could see sweeping changes to the UK’s drug laws.

KM Group editorial director Ian Carter said:  “We’ve received a lot of backing from our campaign from readers and listeners, and it’s gratifying to see the Goverment taking our findings on board.

“Kiran has only been with us for a short while, but has done a fantastic job with the campaign and has really got to grips with the issues to produce some brilliant stories for all our platforms.”

Accepting the dossier, Mr Baker said:  “We’ve suddenly got a whole lot of new substances that people don’t know what the long term effects are, how safe they are, whether or not they’re harmless or whether they could cause a fatality.

“Many of our young people up and down the country are trying these substances, sometimes with pretty horrible effects.  There are serious issues and that’s why the government’s taking it very seriously.”