A Burnley pastor, who is in drug addiction recovery, has issued a warning about the spread of a super strength drug after a surge in overdoses at his charity.

Pastor Mick Fleming, founder of Church on the Street Ministries, a charity which helps people affected by homelessness and addiction, is now warning people about the dangers of synthetic opioids called nitazenes.

This comes as the Government announced a ban on more synthetic opioids to prevent drug-related deaths in the UK and ensure anyone caught supplying these substances faces tough penalties. 

A total of 15 additional synthetic opioids, including 14 nitazenes, are now controlled as class A drugs, following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). 

According to a government spokesperson, these substances are highly addictive and incredibly dangerous and pose a higher risk of accidental overdose, which is a widespread problem in other countries.

Isotonitazene, a type of nitazene, is said to be 500 times stronger than morphine.

Mick said: “I organise the funerals for some of the people who were struggling with addiction.

“I am organising three times as many funerals as people are overdosing and dying.

“Drug addicts are not necessarily going out to buy nitazenes, they might already be cut into a drug, such as heroin.”

Mick says Church on the Street sees around three deaths related to overdose, on an average year. Mick says eight people have already died from drug-overdose related deaths at Church on the Street since January.

While it has not been confirmed that the deaths are related to the intake of nitazenes, Mick says it is “unusual” to see so many hard-core drug-users, who have a high drug tolerance, to die of an overdose.

Mick said: “Hard-core drug users repeatedly dying, it can be unusual. They know how much to take and they have a high tolerance which makes you think there could be something wrong with the substances they are taking.

“These people think they need the drug more than their life. I am in recovery myself and know an addict never thinks an overdose will ever happen to them.”

Mick says the Government’s extended synthetic opioid ban, which came into force on March 20, will raise awareness of the dangers of the drugs but does not think it will stop the issue.

He said: “[I believe] we will see more people overdosing and dying due to these nitazenes.

“The Government has banned additional opioids, but people are using drugs illegally anyway… what it has done is raise some awareness.

“It won’t stop people using and dying but people now have more awareness, and a conversation is starting.

“Awareness and harm reduction is the only solution that is going to work. We train people to use naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids.  I campaign nationally about harm reduction related to drug usage and the use of naloxone.

“Addicts are normal people whose lives didn’t pan out the way they wanted them to.

“We offer hope and are trying to show these people an alternative society and community. We want to keep them alive long enough to see this.”

The Government’s priority is to engage with vulnerable people at risk of being sold these lethal synthetic opioids and divert them towards treatment.

Those caught in possession of them could also face up to seven years imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. 

Home secretary James Cleverly said: “We are highly alert to the threat from synthetic drugs and have been taking a range of preventative action, learning from experiences around the globe, to keep these vile drugs off our streets.

“Our plan is working – the overall quantities of synthetic opioids reaching the UK remain lower than other countries, but we are not complacent. Placing these toxic drugs under the strictest controls sends a clear message that the consequences for peddling them will be severe."

Crime and policing minister Chris Philp said: “Synthetic opioids are significantly more toxic than heroin and have led to thousands of deaths overseas. We are determined to ensure these destructive and lethal drugs do not take hold in our communities in the UK. 

“We have a strategy that is tackling the soulless criminal networks supplying these drugs and are building a world-class treatment system to turn lives around. We are enhancing our early warning system to ensure the right agencies can respond rapidly if these drugs are detected in communities.”

The UK is enhancing its surveillance and early warning system, which will improve the ability to track dangerous narcotics that reach our streets.

This will include state-of-the-art monitoring for the presence of synthetic drugs by analysing wastewater or recording spikes in overdoses in specific locations. These findings will be cascaded down to law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning rapid action can be taken in communities where they are detected.