A WIFE is scared that her husband will die if he continues to take the drug Black Mamba.
Michelle Littlewood, of White Ladies Close, Worcester, said her partner, Mike, goes missing for days on end to get high on the drug.
Mr Littlewood said his heart bleeds for his wife and he is now trying to get off the former 'legal high'.
His 30-year-old wife said: “In the past two weeks I’ve had to report him missing twice.
“This time when I found him [on Friday] he was purple and fitting, with his eyes rolling back in his head. He could have died.
“I’m worried he will smoke too much and that will be the fit that polishes him off and I won’t even know that he’s dead.
“He will just die in an alleyway or a bush and I wouldn’t know. I don’t know what I can do about it but there’s got to be other wives and sisters sat at home going spare like me wondering if their loved one will come home at night.”
Mrs Littlewood said her husband’s Black Mamba use ‘got out of hand’ about a month ago, when he started disappearing for several days at a time.
She said he spiralled out of control after he stopped working as a window cleaner and painter when she broke her ankle about eight weeks ago.
Mrs Littlewood, who works as a cleaner, said he started to care for her, however this meant he eventually ran out of money last month.
She claims he then started to take Black Mamba as a cheaper alternative to other drugs.
Some users even get the drug for free by picking up cigarette butts in the hope that they contain Black Mamba, according to Mrs Littlewood.
Mike Littlewood, aged 38, said: “I think Black Mamba is the worst thing out there, it’s worse than heroin, crack cocaine; drinking is quite bad, but I think Mamba is worse.
“I get hours and hours of blank, I don’t know what I’ve done. I sit there on the street kissing the pavement... passed out on the floor.
“My heart bleeds for her [Michelle] but when you’re smoking it you are self-centred. You forget about everything for a whole day.”
Mr Littlewood, who stopped taking the drug on Sunday and is now suffering from withdrawals, said the city’s problem with Black Mamba is getting worse.
He added: “Since it’s gone underground people want it more as it’s illegal. I started smoking it when it was legal and in the shops.
“It was better when it was in the shops as it was regulated and now everything is in it.
“You can find it everywhere, you just have to ask a few homeless people and they will point you in the right direction.”
The couple, who met about two years ago and got married last year, said they want to raise awareness about the damage that the drug is causing.
West Mercia Police Chief Inspector Stephanie Brighton said: “We advise against the use of all recreational drugs. We are aware of incidents in the city of people using the street drug referred to as Black Mamba.
"These drugs are dangerous, if persons take dangerous substances, they put themselves at risk. If you have any concerns, please seek medical advice immediately.”
Worcester paramedic Christine Gill previously said Black Mamba was becoming increasingly popular in the city.
She thinks that the drug is more addictive than heroin and warned users that they could end up dead taking it.
Black Mamba, a synthetic marijuana which is smoked, was banned with other ‘legal highs’ in 2016.
Last week the Worcester News published pictures of Black Mamba users slumped across benches in the city centre last week.
Anyone with information about drug activity can ring the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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