This is the moment police officers inject a heroin addict with a potentially life-saving drug, thinking he had overdosed, only to realise the man had fallen asleep.

It was the first time a UK police force has used the drug to reverse the effects of a heroin overdose.

West Midlands Police are the first in the country to train officers on how to use the drug naloxone.

Bodycam footage shows the moment officers in Birmingham administered the drug to a suspected heroin addict who had passed out in the street.

As the man lies on the floor outside a House of Fraser store on July 15, two officers begin injecting him with the drug.

However, a short while after he was loaded onto an ambulance the man woke up, and officers realised he had just nodded off.

Officers confirmed it was the first time the drug had been used in the UK.

Despite being injected by mistake, the man was released from hospital a few hours later, without any harm.

Naloxone is an emergency antidote for overdoses caused by heroin and other drugs, including methadone, morphine and fentanyl.

The initiative to use the drug came after a report by Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson revealed that every three days someone dies from drug poisoning in the West Midlands.

An overdose begins to eventually stop the heart and breathing.

Naloxone is used to block this effect and reverses the breathing difficulties temporarily to buy time for the ambulance to arrive.

Chief Inspector Jane Bailey, the force’s drug lead, said: ‘This is a really innovative and exciting initiative as we continue to tackle the issue of drugs and offer help and support to those at risk from drug overdoses.

‘Officers will be able to instantly administer the life-saving drug should they come across anyone experiencing an opiate overdose while out and about in the city.

‘A sight which has sadly been experienced by officers who have had to call for paramedics to assist others under the influence of controlled drugs.

‘While this is not about trying to interfere with the fantastic work of our ambulance colleagues, who of course would still attend and deal with the patient, it’s about being able to offer the initial fast aid and help save a life.

‘We also hope that this intervention can assist people with taking steps to get support from our specialist drug agency colleagues in an effort to turn their lives around.’

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