How father-of-two became a ‘zombie’ with ROTTING flesh after succumbing to a deadly new drug sweeping Britain
A father whose legs were wrapped in bandages to cover horrific wounds has opened up about using the ‘zombie’ drug that is tearing through Britain.
Craig Bignall is a father-of-two and former roofer, but he recently succumbed to a deadly new drug that eats through flesh.
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The 56-year-old lives in Solihull – the city where the zombie drug is hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US claimed its first British victim.
Karl Warburton was only 43 when he was found dead in his home West Midlands at home after using a cocktail of drugs.
One of the substances that coursed through his veins as he breathed his last became the ‘ ‘zombie medicine’ – xylazine.
Craig says he and other users are trying to be careful not to accidentally take the ‘new’ drug, but it feels unavoidable.
The father, who admitted he had been a drug addict for 30 years, says he now fears for his life.
He told The Sun: “I’m worried about what they’re mixing with it.
“Chances are I’ve had it (xylazine) because I’ve had so much stuff and now I have sores in my legs.”
Craig’s legs are covered in bandages stained by the pus seeping through them, and he walks with a crutch.
He says he’s fighting an infection — and also fighting to avoid the deadly drug.
The father said: “Just to be safe I use a tiny bit and if it feels good I go ahead and take the rest.
“It’s been going on for thirty years. I’ve tried everything to quit but it’s really hard when you can get them in the blink of an eye.
“But the things they mix with it make me sick.”
Craig claimed that there had been many drug-related deaths recently.
Another user, who did not want to be named, said people should “be careful” as there were many “dodgy” drugs in circulation.
He said: “It is not fair fentanyl they just bash other poisonous things with it.”
It comes as other Solihull residents revealed the crimes they see unfolding every day.
What is the ‘zombie drug’ xylzaine?
King’s College London says xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine as a tranquilizer for large animals.
The drug – known as ‘tranq’ or ‘tranq dope’ when cut with heroin and fentanyl – is causing widespread problems in North America because it can dangerously slow breathing and heart rate.
Injected directly into the user’s bloodstream reduces the need to re-dose, but this can cause large open skin sores and has led to it being called a ‘zombie drug’.
Caroline Copeland, director of the National Deaths by Means Program, said The times last year: “Xylazine is not included in standard drug screening and many more could go undetected.
“How big is the xylazine problem in Britain? This could be the tiniest tip of a growing iceberg.”
Resident Ian McLeod, 74, who advised Home office and West Midlands Police on drug-related matters, has seen everything firsthand.
He said the “zombie drug” that killed Karl and other Britons is becoming increasingly prominent in the community – as well as in other horror mixes.
Ian told The Sun: “Xylazine is the one on the market at the moment. Many strange drugs are added.
“They are using the wrong ingredients and piling up the right things with waste, which is causing the problem of increased overdoses.
“It’s all about making more profit for the big dealers and they don’t care about human lives.
Inspector Mark Heard, local CID supervisor at Solihull LPA, told The Sun: “We rely on our communities to educate us about drug dealing and drug use issues.
“This will help us formulate our patrol plans and drug warrants and we urge anyone with information to contact us via the live chat on our website or by calling 101.
“Or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”
Zombie skin-rotting drug is taking over America’s streets
BY EMMA CRABTREE
A skin-wrecking drug commonly known as “Tranq” or “Tranq dope” is going through the streets of Philadelphia and is on its way to California.
Public health officials are alarmed by its spread and the horrific wounds it causes to users.
Tranq is the generic term for xylazine, an animal tranquilizer drug that is now commonly adulterated with heroin or fentanyl.
Xylazine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an animal tranquilizer used by veterinarians, but is not safe for humans.
Tranq users have discovered raw wounds on their skin at the injection sites that have rotted the surrounding skin and caused an infection, sometimes leading to amputation.
The wounds turn into a crust of dead tissue called scab, which if left untreated causes people to lose limbs.
Some former addicts have even talked about people continuing to inject the drug into their stumps.
Xylazine killed a record nearly 107,000 people in the US in 2021.
The American Sun spoke with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, about the additional danger of this drug in relation to Narcan.
Narcan or Naloxone is the most commonly used life-saving drug to reverse the effect of an overdose.
The NIDA said, “There are no existing medications to reverse a xylazine overdose.”
Philadelphia mayoral candidate David Oh told The US Sun: “We have a serious epidemic in Philadelphia.”
The Republican candidate added that the city, and especially Kensington, has become a “destination” for drug addicts and dealers.
Oh believes the lack of a drug to treat Tranq overdose won’t deter addicts or dealers.
He even said that when addicts hear that someone has died, they will look for that drug.
The lawyer and politician said: “Deadly drugs sell best… when addicts get high they are in heaven, and when they are not high they are very unhappy.
“Then they finally inject again and it’s Shangri-La – it’s heaven.
“They wake up to a miserable life and a miserable world… so Narcan and saving a life is not what they are looking for – dying in heaven will make them happy.”
He added: “They live for good. When they hear that someone has died, that’s it, they go for it.
“Death is a big seller, it’s a money maker.”
The NIDA said: “Repeated use of xylazine can also cause painful skin ulcers and abscessespossibly due to reduced oxygen supply to the skin and vasoconstriction of blood vessels.
“Xylazine is part of today’s serious overdose epidemic, and we must work to make treatment for substance use disorders cheaper and easier to obtain than illicit drugs.”
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