Overdose reversing spray helps 'save man's life'

Naloxone was used to help save the life of a man in Northampton earlier this month

A man's life has "potentially been saved" by a police force's first deployment of a medical nasal spray designed to revive people who have suffered a drug overdose.

Northamptonshire Police said one of its officers used naloxone to assist a man in his 20s, who was lying unconscious and unresponsive, in Fish Street, Northampton, on 6 September.

Neighbourhood officers across the county have been trained to carry the naloxone spray which reverses the effects of opiates and opioids, such as heroin, on the central nervous and respiratory systems.

The spray is used to stop a drug affecting the body and buys valuable time to keep the individual alive while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

Det Supt Steve Watkins said naloxone offers "a vital lifeline"

Northamptonshire Police are working with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the charity Change Grow Live on the pilot scheme and officers can volunteer to take part.

Det Supt Steve Watkins, who is leading the project, said: "Within only a few days of this launching in the county, a police officer has provided potentially life-saving aid to a man who had suffered an opiate overdose.

"This is a fantastically positive development, and we are grateful for the support we have received from colleagues in health as well as drug misuse charities who have helped to make this happen".