Devon police arrest four after death and 'bad batch' heroin alert

People in Barnstaple were among those taken to hospital

A man has died and four people have been arrested after a "bad batch" of heroin was circulated in north Devon.

Eight people required hospital treatment after incidents in Barnstaple, Bideford and Westward Ho!, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

Two men and a woman have been detained on suspicion of being involved in the supply of a controlled substance.

Police declared a major incident on Friday and said a batch of the Class A drug was "making people very ill".

Officers said a man, who received medical treatment at one scene, died after he took a "substance".

The major incident was stood down on Saturday morning.

'Significant concern for welfare'

Devon and Cornwall Police said it was believed to have been an "unusually strong batch" of heroin.

It said there was a "significant concern for welfare" among the local drug-taking community.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday night, Insp Dave Thubron said the incident was "incredibly serious".

Mr Thubron said: "I am looking at deploying multiple resources to this and would plead with anyone who has possession of any this substance to take note of the danger."

On Saturday, North and West Devon local policing area commander Supt Toby Davies said it was believed the incident had been "contained".

"We continue to work with health partners to warn those who may be substance users to exercise extreme caution," he said.

The College of Policing describes a major incident as an "event or situation requiring a response under one or more of the emergency services" that "will usually include involving large numbers of people, either directly or indirectly".