A SHOP that sold "legal highs" in Bolton town centre has closed down.

Nirvana in Bold Street was legally selling substances called Bad Santa and Black Mamba — which, while legal, are alleged to have been linked to a spate of disturbances in town.

The Bolton News understands that the council's desire to take action against the shop intensified after incidents in Victoria Square while the Winter Wonderland attractions were open over Christmas.

Black Mamba is a cannabis substitute that has reportedly become popular in British prisons. It is legal, but the dangers it poses are not fully known, the authorities say.

The police and council, under new powers granted by the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, are now able to take action against businesses that contribute to anti-social behaviour through the products they sell.

Nirvana sold legal highs, as well as drug-related items such as bongs and pipes.

There is no evidence that any of Nirvana's trade arrangements were illegal, but police and Bolton Council were worried that people were taking or smoking products bought from the shop and then causing trouble in the town centre.

Over the last few months, large groups have been gathering outside waiting for Nirvana to open, and people who had consumed goods sold there were then causing trouble close to the shop, the council said.

Bolton Council says it had repeatedly tried to work with Nirvana's owner to address the anti-social behaviour and disturbances, but when those attempts did not work, the police and council served the shop with a temporary closure notice and applied to the courts for a closure order.

Nirvana was due to answer the case at Bolton Magistrates Court on February 11, but its owner has decided to close voluntarily before that happened.

Cllr Derek Burrows, the council's cabinet member for community safety and police, said: “We had a genuine concern both about the safety of these products and the impact they were having on the individuals taking them and also the wider community.

"It was difficult to find a solution, but by working with the police to bring a closure order, we feel we have sent a clear message that these types of businesses and the issues they bring are not welcome in Bolton.

"We are pleased that the owner of the business recognised that this type of business is not needed or wanted in our town and decided to close the shop.”

The police and the council said they were also concerned about the safety of the products and their effect on the individuals taking them and the wider community.

Legal highs contain one or more substances which produce similar effects to illegal drugs, such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.

However, they can be extremely dangerous, opponents say, as there has been very little research into their potency or the effects of mixing them with other substances such as alcohol.

Nirvana's owner could not be contacted for comment.