A man has died and four people have been arrested after an "unusually strong" batch of heroin spread across North Devon.
Another eight people were treated in hospital after it was believed they had taken some of the drug across Westward Ho!, Bideford and Barnstaple.
Devon and Cornwall Police declared a major incident on Friday due to the threat posed to the drug-taking community.
Officers became aware that the batch of the Class A drug was circulating locally at around 5pm yesterday.
A man has died and four people have been arrested after an "unusually strong" batch of heroin spread across North DevonGettyTwo men and two women have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the supply of a controlled substance.
The major incident was stood down on Saturday morning.
North and West Devon local policing area commander Superintendent Toby Davies said: “As soon as we were made aware of the issue this substance was likely to cause on Friday evening, we did everything possible with partners to reach out to the drug-using community to warn them of potential danger they were facing.
“We continue to work with health partners to warn those who may be substance users to exercise extreme caution.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
“However, we would reassure the community we believe this is now contained.
“If anyone fears they are in danger or are in the company of someone suffering a medical episode, we would ask they contact 999 to seek appropriate medical help.”
Police said the batch of the Class A drug was "making people very ill".
On Friday night, Inspector Dave Thubron said the incident was "incredibly serious".
Eight people were treated in hospital after it was believed they had taken some of the drug across Westward Ho!, Bideford and Barnstaple
Getty
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."
The College of Policing defines a major incident as "an event or situation requiring a response under one or more of the emergency services’ major incident plans".
It is one that "will usually include involving large numbers of people, either directly or indirectly."