BRADFORD'S largest drug treatment charity has warned it is seeing a surge in cases of addictions to 'legal highs'.

People were experimenting with the substances despite being ignorant of the potentially lethal side-effects, said Jon Royle, of the Bridge Project.

Admissions to Bradford Royal Infirmary linked to the use of 'legal highs' have also increased "ten-fold" in the past year and the Government is now looking into introducing a blanket ban to try to eradicate the problem across the country.

The Bridge Project works with about 2,000 people a year, mainly those in rehabilitation to overcome addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, but Mr Royle warned the trends for drug use were changing.

He said: "Because these substances are fairly new, we're not yet seeing people in large numbers with really entrenched problems, but we're starting to see more people coming through into our services using these drugs..

"There is a whole new challenge for us with club drugs and 'legal highs'.

"We are starting to see more and more of these products now which are very easy to get hold of, and the problem is that some are more dangerous than illegal drugs.

"At the moment, we don't know the long-term effects of these substances, so in many ways, the unknown factor is more of a threat than illegal drugs that we deal with."

Mr Royle said the charity had seen a diverse range of people using 'legal highs', which are generally obtained on the high street or via the internet, from vulnerable young people to those using the substances while out socialising.

One part of the charity's new Change Programme, which runs at its Unity Recovery Centre, is dedicated to those suffering from addictions to 'legal highs' and club drugs.

Mr Royle said: "People see the word legal and think how harmful can these substances really be?

"The fact that kind of taboo doesn't exist is one of the most worrying things about these kind of drugs, and it's becoming more socially acceptable for people who might be reluctant to take an illegal drug to try something that has been sold openly as a 'legal high'.

"Some of the side-effects can be horrendous, you see people in their 20s whose bladders have been irreparably damaged."

BRI A&E consultant and clinical lead, Dr Brad Wilson, said patients treated for conditions linked to 'legal highs' typically ranged from those in their early teens up to people in their mid-30.

“'Legal highs' can carry serious health risks," he said.

"The chemicals they contain have in most cases never been used in drugs for human consumption before. This means they haven’t been tested to show that they are safe.

“In the last year, the department has seen a ten-fold increase in the numbers coming to A&E with complications after taking these over-the-counter substances.

"They present with a whole range of conditions, from anxiety and depression at one end of the spectrum, to suicidal thoughts, drop in consciousness and cognitive abilities, cardiovascular instability, and neurological dysfunction."

The Government has announced plans for a blanket ban on the sale of 'legal high's, after an expert panel suggested the substances presented a "challenge that could not be ignored".

Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker said: "We will start looking into the feasibility of a blanket ban on new psychoactive substances across the whole of the UK, clamping down on the suppliers and head shops rather than the users."

There have been more than 140 deaths linked to legal highs in the UK over the past three years.