Police in Wellingborough warn of 'potential bad batch' of drugs
Police are warning of a possible "bad batch" of drugs after a town's emergency services were called to several incidents over Easter.Northamptonshire Police said users in the Wellingborough area had displayed "signs of drug-induced psychosis", with two men being taken to hospital.Det Insp Beth Warren said it "possibly pointed to a potential bad batch of drugs being in circulation".In a post by the force on X, she said it was not clear yet exactly which drugs may have been taken in the incidents.
"We would never advocate anyone taking illegal drugs, but we acknowledge there are people in our communities with drug addictions."It's vital that we put the message out around our concerns that there may be drugs in circulation which are causing really acute behavioural disturbance (ABD)," she added.On Sunday afternoon, paramedics and police were called when a man in Wellingborough who had reportedly taken an overdose was showing signs of ABD.Early on Monday, there were reports of a disturbance at a hotel in Wellingborough. A 33-year-old male was also experiencing possible ABD and was taken to Kettering General Hospital.A 38-year-old man was later taken to the same hospital after police were called to a different property and found him hallucinating.
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Wales Online
6 hours ago
- Wales Online
Man sat down to eat a sandwich - and was dead in minutes
Man sat down to eat a sandwich - and was dead in minutes Lee Eddleston, 55, had been out with friends at the Rishton Workmens Club the evening before he died, an inquest heard Lee Eddleston (right) with a friend. A beloved father of four tragically died just moments after sitting down to enjoy a sandwich and a yoghurt, an inquest was told. Lee Eddleston, affectionately known as Eggy, had spent the evening at Rishton Workmens Club on Thursday, January 16. After a night out with mates, including his flatmate Andrew Aspinall, Lee, aged 55, returned to his residence on High Street. Andrew, who lingered at the club for a while longer, came back to find Lee lying on his back in the kitchen, already cold to the touch, leading him to the heart-wrenching realisation that his friend had passed away. Paramedics later confirmed Lee's death upon their arrival. The inquest, which took place on Monday, June 23, at Preston Coroners' Court, highlighted that Lee, a father to three daughters and a son, was a well-regarded figure in both Rishton and Blackburn. His mate Andrew described him as "a lovely lad". In his statement, Andrew recounted: "We tended to leave the door unlocked for each other. When I got home the door was unlocked.", reports Lancs Live. "I found Lee lying flat on his back. There was half a butty and a yoghurt left on the table. His skin was cold and I realised Lee was dead." Article continues below The post-mortem examination concluded that Lee succumbed to aspirational pneumonia, which Assistant Coroner Sian Jones clarified means "in layman's terms, he choked on his own vomit". Lee, who was "profoundly intoxicated" according to pathologist Dr Neil Papworth, had become more susceptible to aspirating the contents of his stomach. Shortly after beginning his sandwich, Lee likely vomited, with some ingredients found in his lungs post-mortem. Despite a high blood alcohol level of 195mcg - more than double the drink-driving limit which stands at 80mcg for context - Dr Papworth noted that this figure did "not within the range encountered in deaths caused by alcohol alone". Article continues below The coroner recorded an alcohol-related death, citing: "The picture is clear of one where Lee had consumed sufficient alcohol to be considered significantly intoxicated to a point where the body's natural ability to protect itself and its airways were likely to be compromised." Following Lee's tragic passing, his friends established a Facebook page for sharing cherished recollections. Gen Wild shared a kind tribute: "He had a heart of gold and a brilliant personality." Andy Holmes also posted a heartfelt remembrance: "Your positive vibes often picked me up when I would read your posts. You would always try your best for others and your positive energy will always be remembered."
Wales Online
16 hours ago
- Wales Online
This Cardiff GP has been advertising expensive health pills. There are serious concerns over what he's doing
This Cardiff GP has been advertising expensive health pills. There are serious concerns over what he's doing The NHS is looking into concerns over Dr Paul O'Connell's activities after an investigation by WalesOnline Cardiff GP Dr Paul O'Connell (Image: WalesOnline ) A Cardiff GP has been accused of fronting "dangerous" social media ads for health supplements. Dr Paul O'Connell, a locum GP registered with Cardiff and Vale University health board, is a co-founder of a company called Nutritional Sciences Ltd (trading as Physical Nutrition) though he is not a director. In 2023 the business made £961,377 in profit, well up from the previous year's £246,044. But we can reveal there are serious concerns over videos promoting the firm's supplements on social media. The videos often start with a scrubs-donning Dr O'Connell making a striking claim, such as that eating cereal "causes you joint pain", before a 20-minute spiel that concludes with the benefits of the firm's pills. The products include a "blood sugar formula" and supplements for "prostate health" and "joint health" — but we have spoken to experts with fierce criticisms, ranging from questionable ingredients to "dangerously misleading" claims in ads. The NHS told us it is reviewing the concerns over Dr O'Connell's conduct. Dr O'Connell, 53, denied wrongdoing and a Physical Nutrition spokesman said: "We take our regulatory responsibilities very seriously, and ensure that all claims we make about our products are scientifically supported.' The 'blood sugar formula' Our investigation into the company began after we were contacted by a concerned GP, Dr John Cormack — based in Essex, some 200 miles from Dr O'Connell — about adverts that kept flashing up on his Facebook feed. Article continues below Dr Cormack was troubled by videos advertising the company's Gluco Support supplement, priced at £69.95 for 90 pills, which are claimed to help customers "maintain healthy blood sugar levels" using "superfood" ingredients. The videos' characters described health episodes such as collapsing at a wedding because of "spiking" blood sugar, and how the product had changed their lives. Although the footage did not mention the word "diabetes", Dr Cormack feared people could interpret the product as capable of treating diabetes. A "dangerous" example, he felt, was a video that claimed Dr O'Connell had "discovered a way of controlling your blood sugar level without mad exercising, dieting or even painful injections". Dr Cormack felt this could lead to diabetics thinking they could stop taking insulin injections. He was alarmed to see one Facebook user had commented on the video: "Do you quit diabetic medication when using this medicine?" Cardiff GP Dr Paul O'Connell (Image: WalesOnline ) The lawyers representing Dr O'Connell said he had "never made claims around diabetes". They argued that fainting at a wedding could be caused by a "wide range of issues" and that the mention of "painful injections" was actually a reference to the "potentially dangerous practice of using weight loss GLP-1 injections". He would never advise patients to stop taking insulin, the solicitors added. But WalesOnline found an advert with a tagline that described Dr O'Connell as a "leading diabetes expert". The firm's lawyers told us this ad would be removed and that it was a mistake by a marketing employee who had gone against the firm's guidelines, which would be "reiterated" to staff. Next we found wording on the Physical Nutrition website that specifically aimed its blood sugar product at "diabetic" people, telling them "it doesn't have to be this way" and "it couldn't be easier to take back control of your health". Physical Nutrition accepted this "ought never to have been published". Its lawyers told us our enquiries had prompted it to "urgently review its marketing materials", leading to the discovery of ads which "would never have been approved by the senior management". Dr O'Connell's lawyers, meanwhile, said he wasn't aware of the diabetes references and did not endorse them. Secrets of the salamander A range of past scenarios involving Dr O'Connell were used to promote the company's "joint health" supplement, Activ8 Joint Complete. In one video he can be seen wearing black leathers, sprawled on a road after what he describes as a motorbike crash. He tells how the accident left him with chronic joint pain so he carried out research to create Activ8, a 90-capsule bottle of which costs £69.95. In a different video he describes experiencing long-term joint pain after a pedal cycle accident. In another he tells of chronic pain from a "nasty car crash". When we asked Dr O'Connell how many road accidents he had been in, his lawyers responded there had been "a number of significant accidents and numerous more minor accidents". In one video Dr O'Connell was described as a "joint health specialist". When we asked if this was true, the GP's lawyers said he wasn't aware he had been characterised in this way and did not endorse it. But the description, we pointed out, came from his own voiceover. Cardiff GP Dr Paul O'Connell (Image: WalesOnline ) Dr O'Connell said he did not recall using the term "specialist" but did consider himself a joint expert, having previously led teams that gave "electrical stimulation to neurologically impaired patients who suffered from foot drop". His lawyers added that he also carried out an audit on preventing blood clots in joint replacement surgery, and worked with orthopaedic surgeons when he was a foundation doctor. The videos told how Dr O'Connell's "battle with joint pain" led him to remedies derived from "secrets of the salamander", an amphibian which has the ability to regenerate its tail. But last June these videos led to an Advertising Standards Authority ruling against the company, which had failed to engage with the watchdog during its investigation. The ASA found breaches of the advertising code with statements that "a self-healing mechanism can reverse YEARS of arthritis and joint damage" and that cartilage can "regrow just like hair and nails", implying a food supplement could treat human disease. It also found no evidence to support the company's claim that Dr O'Connell was the NHS' "leading joint expert". Physical Nutrition told us it stood by its claims about Activ8 — pointing to Duke University research suggesting humans have an "inner salamander capacity" — but that nevertheless it agreed to take down the videos. Yet, nearly a year on from the ruling, we found the firm still had videos on its social media suggesting the supplement could help regrow cartilage. When we put this to the business, it said the footage had been "missed in a sweep" after the ruling, and would be removed. We then pointed out there were still claims about "supporting cartilage regrowth" on the website. Again, the firm accepted this "ought not to have remained live" and that "the standards of its marketing team's work fell below those acceptable". It vowed to restrain "sales puff" and bring in "a more robust quality control regimen". The scathing verdict of a rheumatologist We asked award-winning consultant rheumatologist Dr Wendy Holden — who is medical advisor to the Arthritis Action charity — her thoughts on Activ8 itself, which the firm claims to be a "clinically proven" joint health formula. Dr Holden was damning in her assessment of the pills' ingredients. "Collagen is digested in the gut and metabolised to glucose just as any protein is, so collagen taken by mouth cannot somehow magic itself into the joints, whatever the claims," she said. She also questioned the claim that oral hyaluronic acid could help with joint pain given that, "like collagen, it will be digested and doesn't travel straight to the joints". Dr Holden pointed out that other ingredients, glucosamine and chondroitin, had been assessed by the UK medical body NICE as potential relief for arthritis symptoms — and the latest guidance states: "Do not recommend the use of chondroitin, glucosamine." She added: "The most worrying implied claim for me, though, is that Activ8 will somehow help with cartilage regeneration. Duke University has shown that humans have molecules similar to those found in salamanders, which may be important in cartilage regeneration, but there is absolutely no evidence that anything in Activ8 can influence these substances, and this whole topic is very much at the basic science stage. "I suspect any benefits from patient testimonials are due to the placebo effect which for pain can be as high as 30 to 40%," she said. The firm's lawyers accepted there was room for "spirited and even heated scientific debate" about the benefits of the ingredients. But they said the product was supported by systematic reviews of studies involving those ingredients, which "carry significantly more weight" than the opinions of any individual. They added: "Our client does not sell medicine, and NICE guidelines are completely irrelevant to it and its products." Dr Holden acknowledged that eggshell membrane, an ingredient, had appeared in a systematic review of seven studies on easing osteoarthritis pain. But she said all were "low quality for a short duration and with few participants", and that any such benefits "would definitely not agree with conventional medical thinking". Dr O'Connell, meanwhile, denied ever claiming cartilage can be entirely regrown. His lawyers also pointed to a "substantial number of positive reviews" on the website and the offer of a 90-day refund. 'Dangerous' prostate health video Physical Nutrition also sells a "men's health" supplement, 'Protect + Perform', which it says helps "maintain a healthy prostate" at a price of £69.95 for 60 pills. When we showed one of its adverts — which the firm says is no longer in use — to the Prostate Cancer UK charity, it was disturbed. In the video, Dr O'Connell warns of "record rates of prostate problems" such as loss of bladder control, then another man's voiceover goes on to say: "It's no wonder so few men get checked, but what if there were a way to beat these problems from the comfort of your own home?" Spotting prostate problems too late "can be fatal", adds the voiceover, continuing: "Prostate cancer now kills more people than breast cancer." Prostate Cancer UK felt the video could lead to men thinking supplements were an adequate alternative to getting tested for prostate cancer. The Essex GP, Dr Cormack, had the same concern. "Research that is about something non-cancerous is presented and conflated with cancer, which is dangerously misleading," Prostate Cancer UK's assistant director of health improvement, Amy Rylance, told us. Physical Nutrition's lawyers defended the video, saying it warned against the problem of "under-investigating prostate health" and that it "makes no claims that its supplements are a suitable alternative to medical care". They said the footage was used between January 2023 and October 2024 but not since then. Logos used 'without permission' On webpages promoting Physical Nutrition's products, there was a curious positioning of the logos of the Guardian, Independent and Sky News above a picture of Dr O'Connell thoughtfully holding a finger to his head. We repeatedly asked the firm why it displayed those logos, without any answer. It was only when we contacted each news outlet — and each told us they had not licensed their logo for such use — that Physical Nutrition's lawyers responded. "At all material times our client believed that it was permitted to use the logos of publications/broadcasters with whom it had advertising agreements," said the solicitors, who added that an internal investigation was underway to check this was correct. Even if there had been permission, wouldn't the logos have risked misleading people that there'd been positive coverage from the news outlets, rather than just advertising? Physical Nutrition did not respond to this question. O'Connell denied being aware of the logos' use. What action is being taken? The ASA told us there appeared to be "ongoing problems" with Physical Nutrition's ads. The matter has been passed to the watchdog's compliance team for "follow-up enforcement action", it said. "Compliance are still actively working with the advertiser in relation to their non-compliant advertising and will decide to take firmer action should that not result in this advertiser making the required amendments," said the ASA's spokesman. "Further action may result in sanctions being applied against this advertiser." The "ongoing problems" are a symptom of regulatory toothlessness, according to Les James, a retired clinical research scientist and a trustee of the HealthSense charity, which campaigns for evidence-based healthcare. "The problem with the ASA is that, although it is by far the most rigorous of the regulators I know, it only operates a voluntary code," he said. "When it says it can apply sanctions, these actually have no legal force, so non-compliant advertisers can take no notice whatsoever. "The ASA refers to their legal backstop Trading Standards, but at HealthSense we have done research on that and found that there simply are no adequate resources for this to be effective. Trading Standards offices typically have only a handful of people, often as few as three. "The deal that the ASA has with Trading Standards is that, first of all, non-compliant advertisers are placed on the naughty step, but this can take several months or years to happen. Once it does, advertisers can sit on the list for years." Physical Nutrition — whose directors run various other health businesses, including the multimillion-pound Malaberg Ltd — told us through its lawyers that it was unaware of any follow-up enforcement action. What the NHS says A spokeswoman for Cardiff and Vale health board told us: 'Dr Paul O'Connell is listed as a locum GP on the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board medical performers list. While the concerns raised are in relation to Dr O'Connell's private work, the health board will review and consider the concerns raised in line with our standard procedures.' The lawyers representing Dr O'Connell said: "Our client is clear that he has recently been working as a regular NHS locum GP and fully intends to continue to work as a GP when locum work is available." Asked if he would continue working with Physical Nutrition, his lawyers said the relationship "will be kept under review, as it has been until now (and as with any professional relationship)". Article continues below At the time of writing, Physical Nutrition's Facebook page is not visible because it has been reviewing its marketing since we raised concerns, its lawyers said. A spokesman for Physical Nutrition said: "Gluco Support, Activ8, and Perform + Protect, as with all of our supplements, were formulated off the back of an extensive body of research from world-leading biomedical scientists, academics, and researchers at some of the world's most prestigious institutions." If you know of a story we should be investigating, email us at
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
US TV star rushed to hospital after fat jab causes ambulance dash
In an Instagram post, she detailed the harrowing experience and praised her doctor for stepping in health scare US TV star rushed to hospital after fat jab causes ambulance dash Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GIRLS actress Jenny Mollen has revealed she was rushed to hospital following a terrifying reaction to a fat-dissolving injection. Actress Jenny, 46, shared a photo from a hospital bed on Friday, sparking concern from fans. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Jenny Mollen has revealed she was rushed to hospital following a terrifying reaction to a fat-dissolving injection Credit: Instagram / jennymollen 4 She shared a photo from a hospital bed on Friday, sparking concern from fans Credit: Instagram 4 Jenny was seen carried into an ambulance on a stretcher Credit: Instagram / jennymollen 4 In the caption, she detailed the harrowing experience and praised her doctor for stepping in Credit: Instagram / jennymollen In the caption, she detailed the harrowing experience and praised her doctor for stepping in. Jenny wrote on Instagram: 'Thank God for my OBGYN, Dr. Albert Sassoon, who spent his entire night on the phone with me and Lennox ER throughout my harrowing journey. "I am so immensely grateful to have such a dedicated, attentive and compassionate human willing to drop everything for me. I don't know what I would do without him.' Jenny is best known for her role in the hit HBO series Girls and is married to American Pie actor Jason Biggs. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
