A HOMELESS woman has told how she jumped in front of a car after taking the ‘zombie’ drug Spice.

Kirsty Hampson, aged 33, who begs in Bolton town centre, said the drug is particularly affecting the homeless community.

She said she has managed to stay off it after the bad experience, around a year ago, nearly got her killed or seriously injured when she jumped in front of a car.

She was speaking the day after The Bolton News featured a photograph of a man who was unconscious in the town centre as a result of smoking Spice.

Paramedics were called on Monday afternoon after the man collapsed near Victoria Square after reportedly taking three drags from a discarded butt.

Miss Hampson, who has been homeless for three years, said: “I’m hoping to sort my life out so I won’t touch it because it nearly killed me about a year ago.

“I tried it just once and I was completely out of it. I didn’t make me feel right at all and I ended up jumping in front of a car.

“It should not be allowed. It’s a killer and I know quite a few people who have been affected by it. It’s a really big problem.

“I know that one of my friends takes it. He can always be found on the floor and he has been in hospital before.”

The latest incident in Bolton comes after police revealed that they had dealt with dozens of calls linked to the use of the substance in Manchester over the weekend.

Police were called out to 58 Spice-related incidents in less than three days, with senior officers saying the epidemic gripping the city centre is putting services under huge pressure.

Several groups of people were photographed slumped and collapsed in Piccadilly Gardens as a result of taking Spice.

People who work with homeless charities in Bolton have called for the drug to be banned completely.

It is still legal to possess Spice as long as it is not intended for distribution.

Gareth Bradbury, a volunteer at Bolton Community Kitchen, said he has dealt with several people who have taken the drug. He said one person is in hospital after suffering brain damage after taking it.

He said: “It has become an issue not just for Bolton but all over because it is so readily available and at such a small price. It is like next to nothing.

“People wait to buy it for an hour and they will have enough for the next two or three hours.

“Many of these people have mental health issues.

“You try and tell them and warn them but they are not taking it in. They are just going to block the day out and their way of life out.

“It started off as a legal high but how could this ever be legal?

“It is the government’s fault for letting it get this far. The government has got to go further because people are having brain damage and it shuts their body down.

“It must be doing something really bad inside and we don’t know the long term effects. It needs to be banned.”

The ban on legal highs under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 criminalised the production, distribution, sale and supply of certain psychoactive substances.

It was introduced last year after worries over an increase in the number of deaths caused by legal highs and also an increase in violence in prisons.

Dave Bagley, chief executive of Urban Outreach in Bolton, commented on how popular the drug has become over the last year.

He said: “I think we were aware of it last year but not to the extent that we are now.

“I think it does have a selective clientele so you could say the current impact in Bolton is relatively limited, but it could become a big problem because it’s so accessible.”

Mr Bagley believes the attraction is that the drug provides the same kind of “buzz” as cannabis but for a fraction of the price.

He said: “The buzz probably comes along as quick as cannabis if not quicker and it’s incredibly cheap.

“The main thing that is becoming realised is that the tolerance to it is growing. You start off with only needing half a gram.

“But your tolerance increases then you take more and more and spend more and more. It then becomes an additional motivator for crime.”

Greater Manchester Police were unable to provide figures of the number of cases specific to Bolton.

'It’s really nasty stuff' — dangerous drug leaving people in ‘zombie-like’ state hits Bolton

In a statement, chief superintendent Wasim Chaudhry from GMP’s city centre team said: “We are doing all that we can to tackle the issue of people taking Spice in Greater Manchester. This is a problem that we cannot afford to get any worse.

“We have increased the number of specially trained officers to try and combat the issues and help those using Spice to access the support they need but to also ensure that danger of Spice is clearly communicated .

“Those who take spice are often left incapacitated or seriously ill need the help of our partners in the NHS and ambulance service. They can also become aggressive and become a danger to themselves and others.

“The truth is, tackling the issues caused by Spice is putting pressure on public services and is taking up a lot of our resources.”

A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said while they were aware of a high number of ambulance call outs to Spice cases in Manchester, there was no knowledge of an issue specific to Bolton.