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Police save life of man who cut off his nose while high on Black Mamba

Six police officers who saved the life of a man who harmed himself while high on drug Black Mamba have been awarded.

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The man had sliced off his own nose.

The officers were called to an address in Newtown, Birmingham on October 12.

They found the man, who was experiencing an extreme psychotic episode after taking synthetic cannabis, with blood pouring from a severe facial injury.

He had cut off part of his nose with a kitchen knife and had also mutilated other parts of his body.

PC Thomas Walker and a colleague were first on the scene and battled for almost 30 minutes to subdue the man while trying to stem the blood loss.

Sergeant Jonothan Rattenbury and PC colleagues Lewis Williams, Chloe Morgan, Harry Matharu also arrived to help restrain the man and carry him down three flights of stairs to the waiting ambulance.

Birmingham Police Inspector Mat Minton, said: “I believe the actions of these officers saved the man’s life. They were met with the sight of someone who’d mutilated himself and was outwardly displaying hostility and aggression towards them.

“They had to deal with that while trying to provide emergency first aid. It’s hard to imagine how challenging that scene must have been for the officers who first attended - they did a brilliant job.

“Sergeant Rattenberry later described it as a bloodbath and the most gruesome scene he’s encountered in 26 years police service."

The man went on to recover in hospital and has since been receiving specialist support.

West Midlands Police has recently joined forces with a drug referral agency in a push to raise awareness of the devastating effects of Black Mamba and to protect members of the homeless community who are being targeted by dealers.

Birmingham Police Superintendent Andy Parsons, added: “Some people are still viewing Black Mamba as a low-risk drug substitute and are taking it without any consideration for their safety. But our view is that there is no safe way to use Spice or Mamba.

“The reality is that these psychoactive substances can have catastrophic effects. Unscrupulous distributers are making it using dangerous, potent chemicals which can be lethal effect, while the psychological impact can be devastating and lead people to self-harm or harm others.

“We cannot stress enough that Black Mamba is a very dangerous drug. It is also now illegal to possess synthetic cannabis like Black Mamba and Spice so users could end up with criminal records."