THE rise in violence in Colchester could be connected to legal highs, says the justice secretary.

During a recent visit to the town, Chris Grayling blamed novel psychoactive substances for a rise in knife crime.

He said: “I have been doing a lot of work around the rise in violent incidents.

“There has been a rise in particular types of violence like knife crime.

“It is connected to novel psychoactive substances – or legal highs.

“They are easily accessible and I speak to police and the prison service. They say the same things, they are having a detrimental effect and causing more violence and people to lash out.

“I think it is part of the problem.”

Essex has seen the number of incidents reported to involve legal highs rising ten fold in four years.

In 2010, there were just 11 incidents where legal highs may have been involved.

By 2014 it was 125 – and the actual number could be far higher.

It is not just Essex which is seeing a rise.

The Centre for Social Justice found nationally the number has trebled in just a year and called on the Government to ban their sale in shops.

The number of deaths also rose from 12 in 2009 to 97 in 2012 and it is still rising.

Director Christian Guy said: “As well as posing worrying health risks, these figures suggest legal highs are placing increasing pressure on public services.

“It is too easy for young people to walk into shops and buy these drugs. Many of them are as dangerous and addictive as Class A substances.

“If we want to start responding to the problems caused by legal highs we need to clamp down on those making a living out of selling them.”

A shop in Colchester which previously sold the drugs stopped, following a campaign by the Gazette, after several children were hospitalised.