A man's death in the town centre is thought to be the fourth caused by a batch of stronger-than-usual Class A drugs being dealt around Swindon.

Police have issued a warning to addicts after officers and paramedics were called to The Parade in the early hours of Sunday morning, where a man in his 40s died.

This incident comes after three other suspected drug-related deaths in the area of adults who have died in similar circumstances since the beginning of May.

All four of these individuals are believed to have consumed what they believed to be heroin before suffering medical episodes.

Since the start of May, police and health professionals in Swindon have been alerted to a number of incidents where drug users have experienced sudden very poor health from taking substances including heroin and cocaine which resulted in them requiring urgent medical attention.

Police say there is a new group of drugs called Nitazenes being dealt around the town which poses a substantial risk of leading to overdose, drug-related hospitalisation, and drug-related death.

The opioids are combined with street drugs including heroin, which users may not be aware contain Nitazene.

Although these four incidents have not been linked to the presence of Nitazenes, Wiltshire Police and their colleagues in the ambulance service are urging anyone that uses drugs to take extra care and to alert family members and friends of those who may be at risk of the dangers of synthetic opioids.

Duty Superintendent Conway Duncan said: “We are in close contact with our colleagues in Public Health in relation to these circumstances and we are keen to ensure we protect people from harm where possible.

“Of course we would never advocate anyone taking illegal substances, however, we understand there are people with addictions and it is important that they are warned about the batch of drugs which appears to be circulating in Swindon.

“If you are a drug user in the Swindon area, we encourage users  not to  use alone and to carry the opioid reversal drug naloxone and be aware  of the potentially fatal consequences."

Officers are urging anyone with any information or concerns about drugs in their community to call police on 101 or ring CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.