A CCTV camera put in place to combat drug-taking anti-social behaviour outside a pet shop in Cambridge called Grumpy's has been hailed a success.

Cambridge City Council placed the camera next to the store after calls from councillors following reports the area was being plagued by troublemakers.

Discarded empty canisters and balloons used to take laughing gas regularly piled up on the forecourt of shops at the junction of Green End Road and Scotland Road in East Chesterton.

The gas – which is nitrous oxide – is an increasingly popular 'party drug' that is legal to buy providingit's not for human consumption

Grumpy's pet store co-owner Julie Brown routinely swept away the rubbish outside her shop before she starts her day. Now a CCTV camera has helped to drive away the trouble.

Richard Page, co-owner of Grumpy's, said: "We had a lot of those gas canisters and litter being strewn around the forecourt outside the shop and complaints from residents about noise, loud parties and anti-social behaviour.

"But the camera has been up about a month and has made a huge difference. Sadly I expect the trouble will just move elsewhere but for us it has helped a lot."

A report by the city's policing and safer neighbourhoods team highlighted the problems ouside the shops.

The report outlined actions taken since the North Area Committee in December. This could be added to the priorities.

Cllr Peter Sarris, who represents East Chesterton asked for the mobile CCTV camera to be deployed around Grumpy's as "anti-social behaviour was on the increase in the area" and was told this would be requested as a priority.

Nitrous oxide is commonly used to numb pain during medical procedures, as well as in engines to increase their power output. However, an estimated 500,000 people across the UK are thought to have used laughing gas, which has been linked to a number of deaths.

The drug can cause oxygen deprivation, resulting in fainting and even heart attacks, while prolonged exposure can cause anaemia, bone marrow suppression and poisoning of the central nervous system.

A spokesman from Cambridgeshire Constabulary previously said: "We have been made aware of some antisocial behaviour linked to the use of nitrous oxide. We have increased patrols in the area in question and would encourage people to report any further incidents."