Royal Bolton Hospital study links use of "poppers" with eyesight damage

The Royal Bolton Hospital is warning that sniffing "poppers" can cause lasting damage to the eyes, following the first study of its kind in the UK.

Poppers is the street name for a group of chemicals called alkyl nitrites and are used by thousands of clubbers as a stimulant and legal high.

It is illegal to sell them for human consumption but they are often sold in sex shops, clubs and gay bars as "air fresheners".

Writing in the journal Eye, doctors who carried out the study say some patients have experienced damaged vision after just one dose and are calling for more awareness among users and ophthalmologists.