A semi-professional footballer from Crawley was found guilty at Guildford Magistrates Court on Friday for possessing nitrous oxide with the intent to supply.  It is the largest seizure in Surrey Police history. 

Leon Redwood from Crawley pleaded guilty to the possession of psychiatric substances with intent to supply.  He was sentenced to 60 hours unpaid work and has to pay costs.  Police officers stopped and searched Redwood in July last year. They located over 6,500 canisters of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, as well as balloons and a device to transfer the gas from the canister into a balloon.  The stop occurred after a member of the public called Surrey Police to report a vehicle behaving suspiciously in Crawley which was subsequently stopped in Lingfield.

Government advice warns that inhaling nitrous oxide can lead to loss of blood pressure, fainting and a heart attack. Prolonged use may result in bone marrow suppression and poisoning of the central nervous system.