HIGHdrangea thieves: French police look to weed out 'hortensia gang' stealing flowers to smoke 'because they can't afford cannabis due to economic crisis'

Hydrangea bushes being stripped in villages across northern France

Gendarmarie believe they are being used as cheap alternative to cannabis

Experts confirm when smoked they can produce a similar effect

Police chief blames spate of thefts on the country's economic downturn



French police are on the trail of a ' hortensia gang' who they believe are looting ornamental hydrangeas from parks and gardens to smoke as a cheap alternative to Cannabis.

Authorities in the north of the country believe cash-strapped potheads have resorted to puffing on the petals because they can no longer afford to buy the real thing due to the country's economic downturn.



Locals in the small village of Hucqueliers near Boulougne were left devastated after dozens of hydrangea bushes were stripped of their glorious white and pink petals in a spate of night-time raids.

Flower power: French potheads have turned to smoking hydrangea flowers stolen from parks and gardens because they can no longer afford cannabis due to the country's economic crisis, police believe



One victim, Jean Carpentier, who lost around 30 of his prized flowers told regional TV station France 3: 'The thieves came and cut my plants right under my window.

'They must have been well-informed as our garden is not visible from the street.'

Experts warn that smoking hydrangeas could cause respiratory problems

At first the local Gendarmarie refused to investigate but when the thefts spread to the neighbouring villages of Humbert, Saint-Michel-sous-Bois and Bécourt, and local mayors began reporting phoning up, they were forced to act.

Local phamracist Maurice Dumez confirmed that when dried and mixed with tobacco, hydrangeas, also known as hortensias, can be smoked to produce an effect similar to cannabis.

Police are now working on the theory that the thefts have come about due to France's worsening economic downturn.

Captain Frédéric Evrard, spokesman for the Nord-Pas-de-Calais regional gendarmerie, told Le Figaro: 'With the crisis we have the impression people are now turning towards natural products, because synthetic ones are more expensive.



'If these thefts are linked to drug use, then it’s the same sort of wave as the hallucinogenic mushrooms collected in the wild.'

Some medical experts have warned that smoking hydrangea flowers can cause respiratory problems, and even produce hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison.