A new law banning legal highs in the UK appears to be in crisis already after two major cases collapsed when judges agreed 'hippy crack' is not illegal.

Hundreds have been arrested and 50 dealers prosecuted and even jailed under the Psychoactive Substances Act since it came into force in May 2016.

Sellers of 'hippy crack' for recreational use were warned they faced up to seven years in prison under a Government crackdown on legal highs.

But now two trials involving the supply of 'hippy crack' at music festivals have ended abruptly after it was argued the drug is exempt from new legislation.

Even the Crown Prosecution Service's own top witness admitted that nitrous oxide is exempt under the act's 'current wording', which could lead to cases being axed, convictions quashed and people released from jail, experts have said. Ryan Egan and Kenan Buckley, who are in their twenties, were both arrested after carrying nitrous oxide into Glastonbury last year and charged with one count each of possession of a psychoactive substance with intent to supply.

But their defence QCs said that the laughing gas cannot be counted as a 'psychoactive substance' and Judge Paul Garlick greed and threw out the cases at ring the hearing at Taunton Crown Court. Southwark Crown Court where a defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was accused of intending to supply nitrous oxide at a music festival in Derbyshire also collapsed.

Prosecutor Adrian Fleming admitted expert witness Professor Philip Cowen has 'the firm view that nitrous oxide, as the legislation is currently worded, is an exempt substance'.

Mr Fleming also said the CPS had told him the situation demanded 'a full review of the legislation and that will be carried out'. 

Drug charity Release says the cases prove the new law is 'fundamentally flawed' and has called for all cases to be reviewed.

Kirstie Douse, head of legal services, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It's something that we've warned about and this is now wasted resources.

‘These are two defendants who've had the confidence to challenge the law. But there’s plenty of people who've gone before that – I think around 50 people have been prosecuted for supplying nitrous oxide.

‘We think that those previous prosecutions and convictions need to be reviewed as well.

'I don’t know the reasons why those previous people were convicted – they may have pleaded guilty for fear of getting a custodial sentence; there may have been some kind of bargaining going on there.

‘I would certainly urge anyone who has been affected by specifically the nitrous oxide part of the legislation and other parts to contact their solicitors for further legal advice. Former deputy drugs tsar Mike Trace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘If legal challenge succeeds against a carefully drafted act, then that's going to put the cat amongst the pigeons somewhat.

'Some of this was foreseen. When the act was passed last year, Release and many other charities were saying there were certain definitions in the act that would be open to challenge – this is just one of them.

‘To my knowledge this is the first successful challenge, but there may be more problems to come.

‘The Government over the last couple of years were right to try and think how they can get around this conundrum of trying to pass a law for each individual drug, or a schedule, so trying to make much broader definitions.

‘But it was obvious that if you come to those much broader definitions and say everything is controlled or prohibited, then there are going to be some very difficult definitional issues. 

'For drugs to be included under this act, the law has to prove they have a psychoactive effect on humans. And for the vast majority of drugs circulating out there, there's no research to show that, so there are going to be some challenges.’

In July last year, William Cook, 29, became one of the first people in Britain convicted under the new law. 

He was jailed for 42 months after admitting possessing nitrous oxide with intent to supply at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Milton Keynes. 

And just eight days ago a geography student became one of the first people to be sentenced under new laws for peddling bag full of potentially fatal 'hippy crack' at a festival.

Nicholas Chroussis was charged with possession of the legal but pyschoactive drug after being found with almost 250 nitrous oxide canisters, a dispenser and 250 balloons, police said.

When Sussex Police revealed text messages on his phone that showed that he was planning on selling the cannisters to other festival goers, he admitted the offence.

A 23-year-old woman has been unable to urinate for three years after being struck down by a bizarre condition.

Vikki Black, from Barrow-in-Furness, suffers from Fowler's syndrome, also known as urine retention. It leaves her bladder muscles unable to relax. 

While most people take popping to the toilets for granted, she constantly thinks about it – because she simply cannot.

Miss Black, who has been unable to go to the toilet naturally since October 2014, initially thought she was suffering from a bout of cystitis.

She is now hoping to undergo pioneering surgery to have tiny electrical pulses implanted on her tail bone to trigger the nerves which work her bladder. 

Opening up about her struggle to urinate for the first time, Miss Black said: 'It’s changed my life so much. 'I’m in and out of hospital and can’t do something as simple as wee. [Surgery] is my last hope. I’m desperate to go to the loo.' 

The problems started back in late 2014, when the environmental health engineer began struggling to urinate.

Over the course of a few days, her symptoms worsened until eventually, she couldn’t go to the toilet at all.

On top of this, her stomach swelled dramatically. She said that she looked '20 weeks pregnant'. Miss Black added: 'I was bursting. I knew I needed to go, I just couldn’t.' Her father, Steve, 52, raced her to the nearby Furness General Hospital. She was given an emergency catheter to drain away 1200mls of urine.  

Doctors told her that the bladder is only designed to hold a maximum amount of around 500ml urine. 

The relief was immediate, and Miss Black was hopeful she’d been cured. But the next day, her stomach swelled once again.

She returned to the same hospital where another catheter was fitted for what she thought would be three months - but three years on it remains intact. Once a patient’s bladder is full, they are asked to pass urine with the catheters in, allowing doctors to gather information on what pressure the bladder muscle generates for a urine flow rate.

It was this procedure that led to her official diagnosis of Fowler’s Syndrome, a condition only described 30 years ago, in late 2015.

The condition, which typically affects women aged in their 20s to 40s, can occur as a result of an operation, or even spontaneously.

Miss Black said: 'It’s so rare that often, when I visit the doctors or hospital, people haven’t heard of it. But it has a huge impact.

'Because of the catheter, I’ve had a lot of kidney infections. I’ve probably suffered around 90 infections and been in and out of hospital.

'Just last week I was in Salford Royal Infirmary with another infection. I was given intravenous antibiotics.' 

Now, Miss Black is hoping to have a type of surgery called sacral nerve stimulation, which is available on the NHS.

However, she said she’d prefer to have it done privately so that she can avoid the waiting list for the operation.

The procedure involves small electrical pulses stimulating the nerves in the lower back, just above the tail bone, which affect bladder control. 

Dennis Rodman is praising North Korean dictator Kim Jong for 'modernizing' the country despite the volatile leader's nuclear threats to the U.S.

The former basketball star is known for making several trips to the controversial country and even becoming friends with Kim, who became 'Supreme Leader' in 2011.

Rodman told Dujor magazine  that Kim has done a great deal since coming to power to bring the Asian country into the 21st century.

'He is changing North Korea so much it is really becoming a 24th century country now,' he said. 

'It's more like they took down the "Flintstone" age and put in the "Jetsons". Out with the old, in with the new,' referencing the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoons take place in the Stone Age and the future, respectively. 

Rodman insists, however, that although he is an American celebrity, the same doesn't apply in Pyongyang.

'You think you're a famous athlete over here. But you feel really small when you go over there. People don't even know you,' he said.

'You think that you're cool in America, that you can go anywhere and people recognize you, want your autograph and pictures. You go over there, and they just walk right past you. Rodman has had a very unique relationship with North Korea for years, ever since Kim - who is reportedly obsessed with the team the Chicago Bulls - wanted to meet the former member.

Rodman has visited the country six times since 2013 and appears to be very close with Kim, who holds the title of Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Hall of Famer also stated that Kim is a true innovator.

'It's funny, because when I first went there it was so…Communist,' Rodman said.

'Dry and dreary and like, I don't know. Everything is so dead.

'But the third time I went there, wow. [Pyongyang] changed a lot. New buildings were popping up and [Kim] is building all these new condos and hotels.

'He built the largest water park in the world, a ski resort and this big bowling alley. He's doing everything for these people. You could go bowl for a quarter all day or go swimming all day for like 50 cents. Despite Rodman trying to portray a more human Kim, many can't help but wonder how true it is, especially given reports of the despot's cruel and unusual punishments. 

In 2013, Kim Jong-un’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek, was accused of being a counter-revolutionary, and was arrested and executed firing squad style.

It was a dramatic fall for a man who was once considered Kim's top adviser.

Such brutal purges of top officials have been a key strategy the leadership uses to keep a handle on power.

Satellite-images have also discovered North Korean's prison-camp system - where as many as 120,000 men, women and children are held.

Prisoners are often subjected to forced labor, torture, starvation, rape and death - although Pyongyang denies that the camps even exist. 

A man says he did not recognise his own reflection after losing a chunk of his cheek in a vicious attacked at the Creamfields music festival.

Jimmy Leggett was left with severe facial injuries in the assault on Sunday afternoon at the festival in Daresbury, Cheshire.

Graphic images of his injuries were shared online and the 21-year-old said that when he looked in the mirror after the attack his first thought was; 'that's not me'.

The aluminium fabricator had travelled to the festival with a group of friends and said he had 'the best weekend ever' before he was hospitalised on Sunday evening.

Jimmy said: 'I don't remember anything that happened, I don't even remember being in the hospital. I can remember looking in the mirror and thinking, that's not me. I didn't recognise my own face.'

After being taken to Aintree hospital Jimmy was given 40 stitches in his face and around 10 under his cheek.

He suffered a broken nose, cheekbone and eye socket and doctors have told him he could possibly lose the sight in his left eye. Jimmy said: 'I'm due to go back to the doctors to get my stitches out and when the swelling goes down they will decided whether I need surgery but its pretty much certain that I will.

'My eye is still so swollen so they don't know yet how affected my sight is but they've said there is a 50/50 chance I could lose the sight in my left eye.'

It is still not clear what caused the horrendous injuries to Jimmy's face but he thinks it was a glass bottle.

Despite being left with potentially life-changing injuries Jimmy said the experience would not put him off attending Creamfields next year. He said: 'This was my first time at Creamfields and it was the best festival I've ever been to. I'll definitely be back next year.

'I'm not going to let this kill the vibe.' 

Thousands of people have shared the horrific images online in the hope of finding witnesses to the attack.

Cheshire Police earlier this week confirmed more than 150 people had been arrested during this year's festival, mostly for drug-related offences.

They confirmed they were aware of the attack on Mr Leggett and had launched an investigation. 

A mother who suffers from a rare disease that makes her vomit up to 60 times a day claims people assume she is bulimic.

Shimmi Munshi, 40, from Bolton, Lancashire, has even been doubted by doctors over her symptoms - which are similar to the eating disorder.

One psychologist, who didn't believe her, asked if she was 'an Oscar-winning actress lying about having an eating disorder'.

She has since been diagnosed with a severe form of gastroparesis - an incurable condition responsible for her symptoms.

It stops food moving through the body because her stomach muscles and bladder are dysfunctional, causing severe pain and nausea. 

After finally accepting her condition to be real, doctors fitted her with a device in her stomach and each buttock to improve her digestion. Munshi, who has a 20-year-old son named Ameen, said: 'People assumed - and still assume - I have bulimia because of the illness.

'My bladder doesn’t work so I’ve had stimulators implanted in each buttock and wires attached to my spine to help the function of my bladder. 

'My bowel does not work and I am on medication for this. They call me a bionic woman because of the machines I have inside me. She added: 'I can feel its undercurrents every day and my stomach starts moving as if there’s a baby inside.

'The thing people don’t understand is that I look very healthy but I have to throw up throughout the day - even at work. 'All my colleagues are surprised that I don’t complain but you just have to get on with it. On the outside you can look well but inside your body is falling apart.'

After doctors failed to diagnose the cause of her sickness - which first started in 2005 - she was bedridden for a year and lost two stone.

Consultants referred her to three psychologists to rule out that she has an eating disorder, the manager at a large energy supplier said. Current treatment 

She visits St James Hospital in Leeds every four weeks to have the machinery adjusted to keep her healthy.

Ms Munshi also takes 12 tablets every day, which includes painkillers, anti-sickness medication, nerve relaxants and antibiotics.

Stomach muscles are controlled by the vagus nerve which contract to break up food and move it through the gastrointestinal tract, which connects the mouth the anus.

The movement of muscles in this tract, along with the release of hormones and enzymes, allows for the digestion of food.

Gastroparesis can occur when the vagus nerve is damaged by illness or injury and the stomach muscles stop working normally.

Food then moves slowly from the stomach to the small intestine or stops moving altogether. People suffer in silence 

Currently there is no cure for this illness. Ms Munshi said: 'People suffer in silence because it is difficult to comprehend how someone can be sick without it being an eating disorder.

'Only the people who have this know the pain and suffering they have to go through.'

The Notting hill Carnival was branded a disgrace last night after it was revealed that 31 police officers were attacked during the two-day event.

They were slashed with broken bottles, spat at, bitten and had acid thrown at them.

In one of the worst confrontations, three PCs had bloody spit sprayed in their faces by a man claiming to be HIV-positive. Frontline police said 'enough is enough' and called for organisers to help safeguard those who dedicate their lives protecting others.

Four people were stabbed, more than 300 arrested and dozens of weapons seized during Europe's biggest street carnival. Although there were fewer arrests than last year's record 454, a three-week crackdown had seen hundreds banned from attending.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation representing the capital's 32,000 rank-and-file officers, said at least 31 officers were attacked.

'We cannot carry on like this. It is a disgrace,' he said. 'My brave colleagues were attacked for just doing their job.

'This is not acceptable. What other event would be allowed to carry on regardless with so many police colleagues under attack?' 

'There is a growing lobby calling for the carnival to be moved to Hyde Park and made ticket-only to deter opportunist criminals. Changes were first proposed in 2000 when two men were murdered. In 2008 there was a riot. 

The Met threw a ring of steel around this year's parade. Senior officers were concerned that feuding street gangs could hijack the event, spurred by simmering anger over the Grenfell Tower disaster.

They were also concerned that the huge crowds could be targeted by terrorists. Officers seized weapons including knives, CS spray, batons and a hammer. Several panics were sparked by troublemakers spraying acid-like liquids.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other senior politicians support the carnival in its current form.

But Met Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: 'I do not believe that, when policing an event of celebration for London, it is acceptable that 31 of my officers were injured.'

A drink-drive businesswoman who already had a string of motoring offences when she was caught three times the limit behind the wheel of her luxury BMW has been spared jail after she claimed a controlling boyfriend had driven her to drink.

Law graduate Foziea Parveen, 29, was seen to swerve around roads, mount kerbs and 'bounce' off a building during a 5am cruise through Manchester city centre.

A concerned driver who followed the 155mph BMW 5-Series at the request of police found Parveen, who worked for her family's retail business, was 'out of it' when he tried to stop her.  

When she eventually pulled over outside a railway station she began ranting that someone was in the back of her empty car and kicking the windscreen.

Police who breathalysed Parveen discovered she had another drink-related driving conviction and had later gone to jail when she was caught driving dangerous and whilst banned from the roads. She also did not have a full driving licence and had no insurance.

At Manchester magistrates court, Parveen admitted drink driving but was spared prison after telling JPs she had been 'in distress' after she went to police a week earlier claiming she has been abusive towards her.

She also claimed to have called police as a recently as Sunday of this week saying he had smashed her phone and 'forced' her to drive down a motorway. He was said to be the owner of the BMW.

The drink driving incident occurred at 5.30am on February 5 whilst Parveen, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs was thought to have been visiting her unnamed partner in Manchester.

Prosecutor Matthew Treece said: 'She was driving a white BMW and a witness was driving behind her. To begin with, she was driving normally until swerving outside a Sainsbury's store where she then stopped in the road with no warning, causing the witness to slam his brakes on, nearly causing a collision. 'She then continued on up a road swerving in the street. The car mounted the kerb and bounced off a building before coming to a stop.

'The witness got out of the car and went to look inside the defendant's vehicle to which he described her as 'out of it' either drunk or on drugs. He then asked her 'what are you doing' to which she drove off. The witness called the police who advised him to follow her in the car.

'She continued swerving swerving backwards and forwards then finally stopped behind Piccadilly Station. The defendant then got out of the car. The witness found the defendant screaming and shouting saying that someone was in the back of the car and had begun kicking the windscreen.

'Nobody was in the car with her. She continued to shout and scream until the police arrived and took her into custody. 

This incredible picture shows a woman who delivered her baby, born in his amniotic sac, eight weeks prematurely in the front seat of her own car.

Raelin Scurry, from Pittsburgh, shared the image of the rare moment, which occurs in fewer than one in 80,000 births, on her Instagram page.

It is known medically as en caul and means the amniotic sac that her son Ean Jamal was carried in inside the womb did not break when he was delivered.

The sac is filled with fluid that allows the growing baby an environment to develop in the womb where it can breathe freely.

When women go into labour, this sac breaks and the liquid drains out. This is more commonly known as the waters breaking.

Miss Scurry was en route to the hospital, when she realised she had just given birth after she pulled her pants down and felt her baby's head.  

The baby was originally still, sparking panic. But he eventually 'rubbed his face' using Miss Scurry's thumb and 'pulled his little hands up'.

Miss Scurry said this reassured her that he was healthy. Ms Scurry, a mother-of-two was being driven to hospital by her fiance Ean on August 5 after she started to have intense contractions. She was 29 weeks pregnant at the time.

She initially dismissed them as just contractions, which tend to occur around the middle part of pregnancy.   pulled my pants off and reached down, sure enough his head was right there. I pushed one time and my miracle baby was here.'

Miss Scurry added: 'When I looked down I realised he was still completely wrapped in the amniotic sac.'

The couple believed they would make it to hospital quicker than an ambulance would reach them, so continued to drive.

The baby was originally still, sparking panic. But he eventually 'rubbed his face' using Miss Scurry's thumb and 'pulled his little hands up'.

Miss Scurry said this reassured them both that he was healthy.

The journey to the hospital took seven minutes. They were greeted by staff running to their car.

Medics opened the amniotic sac Ean Jamal, who weighed 3lbs 1oz, was in.

Miss Scurry added: 'He's doing wonderful all things considered. I know he’s going to be an awesome little man! He is truly a miracle​ baby. We are so blessed to be his parents. 

A doting mother who 'wrapped her son in cotton wool' killed herself after she flew into a bout of extreme rage at learning he had been smoking cannabis.

Businesswoman Susan Underwood, 38, was so enraged at finding the drug in her garden shed, she grounded eldest child Brandon, 21, before having a violent confrontation with those who gave him the substance.

Last April when Mr Underwood asked if he could go out again only to stay out 45 minutes later than usual, his mother dragged a knife down her own arm before resting it on his shoulder when he came home, asking 'are you ready?'

Less than ten hours later Mr Underwood found her dead on the living room floor with notes of intent scattered around after taking a fatal overdose of prescription medication mixed with Jack Daniel's and cola.

An inquest heard divorcee Mrs Underwood, who ran a tattoo parlour in Padgate, Warrington, Cheshire, was said to dote on her two children but she split up with her partner over rows about her mollycoddling Mr Underwood. She had also been experiencing severe panic attacks after the setting up of her own business and had been prescribed a beta blocker and an anti-depressant drug.

Mr Underwood told the hearing in Warrington: 'About two weeks before she died she found out I was involved with the wrong kind of people and smoking. She confronted me about it and I told her the truth. 

Britain could be bound by the rulings of EU judges for years after Brexit , the government admitted today.

Ministers have left the door open for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to continue to have jurisdiction over Britain for an 'interim period' of up to three years after March 2019.

The UK may still be forced to abide by ECJ rulings even after we quit the Brussels club for good under one model being considered by British officials.

Under the 'Modolva model' arbitration panels considering disputes between Britain and the bloc which involve EU law would have to refer the case to the ECJ and be bound by its ruling.

The revelations, contained in a Government Brexit position paper published today, could spark accusations Theresa May has watered down on her promise to end the court's jurisdiction in Britain.

They come just an hour after the Prime Minister insisted the UK will 'take back control of our laws' after we leave the EU.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent Brexiteer, told the Mail Online: 'Once we leave there must not be any direct effect of the ECJ judgements otherwise we have not left.' It does not rule out the ECJ continuing to reign supreme for an interim period.

It states: 'The UK will work with the EU on the design of the interim period, including the arrangements for judicial supervision, enforcement and dispute resolution.'

It does rule out the ECJ continuing to have 'direct jurisdiction' over the UK after this period.

And in future, legal disputes will be settled by committees or arbitration panels and it singles out the 'Moldova model' as one that could be emulated.

Under this, the arbitration panel would have to refer the matter to the ECJ if it involves the interpretation of EU law and 'be bound by its interpretation'. 

Remain supporters have claimed Mrs May has climbed down from a hard-line position on the ECJ in search of a more pragmatic solution. 

But the Premier, speaking today in Guildford, insisted the system would mean British law was supreme. 

She said: 'Parliament will make our laws, it is British judges who will interpret those laws and it will be the British Supreme Court that will be the ultimate arbiter of those laws. 

'We will take back control of our laws.'

Mrs May said business wanted to know how disputes would be resolved under the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. She said there were a 'number of ways' the arrangements could be set up and the final version would be subject to negotiation with the EU.  

But she said: 'We are very clear we won't have the European Court of Justice but we will put in place arrangements to ensure businesses have the confidence of knowing they can continue to trade across the EU.'  

Justice Minister Dominic Raab earlier admitted British courts would want to keep 'half an eye' on rulings in Europe to ensure laws were kept aligned.

But he insisted the principle of removing direct interference from the EU court would be maintained by the Government in the Brexit negotiations.