A community group has won an award that for its work in highlighting the dangers of "playing Russian roulette" by sniffing aerosols.

The Chantelle Bleau Memorial Fund in James Street, Bradford, was awarded a PC and a year's free connection to the internet as part of the BT Community Connections Awards scheme.

The fund was set up in 1997 after the death of 16-year-old Chantelle Bleau who died from inhaling butane gas.

It gives regular presentations at schools in the hope of reducing the number of deaths by 'volatile substance abuse'.

Christian Allsworth, development manager, believes that the workshops are very effective. During them he warns of the dangers of sniffing aerosol products - gas lighter refill, nail varnish, glue and petrol - to people aged 12 to 18.

"Because they're household products, people don't class them as drugs so they think they're safe. But that's not the case," he said.

He believes that young people experiment with such substances for fun and because they are accessible and cheap.

"We can't stop the manufacturers and the retailers from making and selling these products because they are made for their intended purpose.

"But we can tell young people about the real effects they can have on the body and that they shouldn't be abused.

"It's like playing Russian roulette. You could try it once or six times but it can kill you at any moment."

Mr Allsworth has a busy schedule of training in schools but finds he is increasingly being approached to give training to professionals because the fund is the only organisation in the region which specialises in substance abuse.

"People think this kind of abuse is not as common as ecstasy or cocaine but that's not true. Because it's not part of club culture we don't see it so much. Young people don't boast about 'gassing' and 'tooting' volatile substances but of those that die, more that 65 per cent die in their own home."

In 2000, 64 people died of this sort of abuse. And during the period from 1991 to 2000, there were 118 deaths in West Yorkshire.