Flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug killed Britain’s first victim in our town – users with rotting wounds are flooding streets

Residents reveal drug use is leading to bigger issues in the town

Locals living in a town where a flesh-eating ’zombie’ drug killed its first UK victim have told of the horror they see daily. 

They say drug use in the place they call home has only gotten worse as the years have gone on - and they don’t know it will ever change.

Karl Warburton was the first person in the UK to die of a ’zombie’ drug

Ian McLeod, 74, says drug dealers in his town don’t care about people’s livesCredit: Nigel Iskander

Sixty-four-year-old Angela Roberts says she often comes face-to-face with drug paraphernalia in SolihullCredit: Nigel Iskander 

The horror drug has been ripping through the streets of America for yearsCredit: Getty 

It’s known as a zombie drug as it eats through fleshCredit: Cureus 

Residents of Solihull say substance abuse has always been an issue - with addicts and dealers often seen roaming the streets. 

It was there that the body of Karl Warburton was found. 

The 43-year-old was the first Brit to die after taking xylazine - a drug that’s killed hundreds of thousands as it rips through America. 

It’s known as a zombie drug as it eats through flesh, and leaves users with horror open, rotting wounds.

Solihull local Ian McLeod, 74, who has advised the Home Office and West Midlands Police on drug-related matters, has seen everything firsthand. 

He said the “zombie” drug that killed Karl and other Brits is becoming more prominent in the community - as well as other horror mixes. 

Ian told The Sun: “Xylazine is the one that is on the market at the moment. There are lots of strange drugs being added.

“They are using the wrong ingredients and bulking the proper stuff up with rubbish that is causing the problem of the increase in overdoses.

“It is all about making more profit for the big dealers and they do not care about human life.”

Xylazine is a painkiller and relaxant used on animals, but it’s often cut with heroin and fentanyl - which is why experts think Karl and others are dying.

Many are said to not know they’re taking it until too late. 

Ian said the issue is more drugs keep popping up on the market, just as police get on top of the last. 

He continued: “I used to sit with the Chief Constable and we’d say it was like fighting an invisible enemy.

“You are dealing with one drug and then another pops up like Ketamine which caused a lot of damage recently.

"Xylazine is a relative newcomer but it is something they mix in with other drugs rather than selling in its own right.”

Angela Roberts, 64, is a cleaner at the local shopping centre and often comes face to face with drug paraphernalia. 

She said: “I have done this job 11 years and I do find those laughing gas canisters sometimes and when we are in the toilets you see needles. 

“You see the needles stuffed in the sanitary bins. It has always been like it. Sometimes they break the bulbs in the toilets.”

Retired foundy manager John Griffiths, 69, said it’s also something he sees on the streets - and in pubs. 

John said: “I live in Chemsley and often see drugs being dealt openly – class Bs like cannabis mostly. 

“If you go into the local bars and clubs, even the social clubs, you will see people taking drugs in the toilet.” 

The 69-year-old said he thought drug use was leading to more serious issues in their how. 

John continued: “Marijuana is seen as a recreational drug but the point is that it is creating more crime. I am sure I’ve seen four shoplifters come out of this Asda in the last five minutes.  

“It has certainly got worse. The police have a hard job to do and the people who are taking have no respect for the police. They cannot police it. It’s impossible.”

Just last year cops executed a massive £2million drug bust in Solihull, taking 40kg of cocaine off the streets. 

And warrants aren’t unusual, West Midlands Police said. 

Inspector Mark Heard, local CID supervisor at Solihull LPA, told The Sun: “We depend on our communities to inform us about drug dealing and issues involving drug use.

“This helps us formulate our patrol plans and drug warrants and we would urge people who have any information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101.

“Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”

Dealers are said to mix the horror drug into fentanyl and heroinCredit: Getty

The drug killed more than 100,00 people in the US in 2021Credit: Getty

David Wilson