Swansea: Injecting Gone Wrong

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0:00:18 > 0:00:26This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting and some strong language.

0:00:27 > 0:00:31People use drugs for all different reasons.

0:00:32 > 0:00:36People use drugs to forget about things.

0:00:38 > 0:00:41People use drugs to get a buzz, to get a high.

0:00:42 > 0:00:44People use drugs...

0:00:45 > 0:00:49..because they've had things happen to them when they was a child.

0:00:49 > 0:00:51People use drugs because they've been brought up

0:00:51 > 0:00:53and they don't know any different.

0:00:56 > 0:01:00For years, the rolling valleys and sprawling towns of South Wales

0:01:00 > 0:01:03have hidden a pervasive underground drug scene.

0:01:03 > 0:01:06High levels of injecting mean thousands of users

0:01:06 > 0:01:09experience a serious wound or injury every year.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13Overdose is the one that catches all the headlines,

0:01:13 > 0:01:17but there are so many problems associated with injecting drug use.

0:01:17 > 0:01:19According to the NHS, places like Swansea

0:01:19 > 0:01:22have seen a recent spike in blood-borne viruses,

0:01:22 > 0:01:26infections, abscesses, and even amputations.

0:01:26 > 0:01:29We're talking about life-threatening conditions.

0:01:29 > 0:01:31You can lose limbs, you can lose your life.

0:01:31 > 0:01:34Over six months, I met a series of individuals

0:01:34 > 0:01:38who invited me to film their lives and see the devastating consequences

0:01:38 > 0:01:41of what happens when injecting drugs goes wrong.

0:01:41 > 0:01:43January this year, they amputated my leg.

0:02:01 > 0:02:05At the age of 12, my mother gave me some heroin to sell.

0:02:06 > 0:02:08And I ended up using it myself,

0:02:08 > 0:02:11and I became an addict at the age of 12.

0:02:14 > 0:02:17I love my mother to bits, you know.

0:02:17 > 0:02:19I just perhaps...

0:02:19 > 0:02:24went the wrong path with the drugs and everything, you know.

0:02:26 > 0:02:29I grew up in some care homes sometimes.

0:02:31 > 0:02:34I'd end up running away from those...

0:02:35 > 0:02:36..just to get back home.

0:02:38 > 0:02:39Oh.

0:02:39 > 0:02:44The first-ever time I had any needle, it didn't do nothing.

0:02:44 > 0:02:49The second time I done it, and I done a little tiny bit more...

0:02:50 > 0:02:53Phew, I was on my knees.

0:02:53 > 0:02:57I was literally on my knees. I thought I was going to die.

0:02:57 > 0:03:01What dog's that, mate? Boxer, is it? Boxer?

0:03:01 > 0:03:02American bulldog.

0:03:02 > 0:03:06- What?- American bulldog. - American bulldog. Lovely dog, innit?

0:03:09 > 0:03:11I've had three drug overdoses.

0:03:11 > 0:03:14I've nearly lost my life a few times.

0:03:14 > 0:03:19I had been in intensive care for 28 or 29 days.

0:03:21 > 0:03:23Had a big abscess on one lung

0:03:23 > 0:03:28and I had more than five and less than ten on my other lung.

0:03:30 > 0:03:32So I was close to death.

0:03:32 > 0:03:35But I was performing to leave the hospital,

0:03:35 > 0:03:38cos I'd run out of drugs and I wanted to go and get more drugs.

0:03:43 > 0:03:47I know a friend of mine who's lost his leg

0:03:47 > 0:03:49through injecting down below.

0:03:49 > 0:03:54I know people who've come close to losing their legs, as myself.

0:03:54 > 0:03:56I missed the vein in my groin.

0:03:56 > 0:04:00It was the biggest vein in your body and the easiest one to go in,

0:04:00 > 0:04:04but little did I know the damage it could cause.

0:04:04 > 0:04:08They cut a large part of my leg away

0:04:08 > 0:04:11and ended up stitching it back together.

0:04:12 > 0:04:15I'll just show a small part of it.

0:04:17 > 0:04:19Right to the underneath on my leg.

0:04:19 > 0:04:23So it goes three quarters of the way round.

0:04:23 > 0:04:26The doctor had said I had nearly lost my leg.

0:04:26 > 0:04:29He came that close to taking my leg off.

0:04:31 > 0:04:34Lower parts of my legs, scarring.

0:04:34 > 0:04:39So I advise anyone at home looking at this

0:04:39 > 0:04:42just to not use heroin,

0:04:42 > 0:04:44because this is what it does.

0:04:48 > 0:04:50Michael only narrowly avoided amputation

0:04:50 > 0:04:53as a result of his drug use.

0:04:53 > 0:04:55The longer he continues to inject, the more at risk he is

0:04:55 > 0:04:59of these types of severe, life-altering consequences.

0:05:06 > 0:05:10My name is Brandon Miles, and I was born in Swansea in 1969.

0:05:10 > 0:05:12Grew up on these hills,

0:05:12 > 0:05:15catching horses, playing in the dirt and eating worms.

0:05:17 > 0:05:20I was an intravenous user of heroin,

0:05:20 > 0:05:24methamphetamine, and EP, ethylphenidate,

0:05:24 > 0:05:26for a period of 14 years.

0:05:27 > 0:05:31Every single day, several times a day.

0:05:31 > 0:05:33Here I am...

0:05:34 > 0:05:36..well, look, a mess.

0:05:37 > 0:05:39Ah, my toe, my leg.

0:05:41 > 0:05:43My other... My right leg.

0:05:43 > 0:05:45My hernia, my cochlea.

0:05:45 > 0:05:48My nose, my teeth.

0:05:48 > 0:05:50I'm in a mess.

0:05:52 > 0:05:55Ah, it's all to do with just... I was taking drugs, I think.

0:06:00 > 0:06:03Brandon recently had his right leg amputated

0:06:03 > 0:06:07due to injuries caused by years of injecting drugs.

0:06:07 > 0:06:10At 47, he's found himself newly disabled,

0:06:10 > 0:06:13adapting to life as an amputee.

0:06:13 > 0:06:15He was on his way to pawn his laptop

0:06:15 > 0:06:17after his disability benefit had run out for the week.

0:06:19 > 0:06:25I need about... £60, £70 for the laptop

0:06:25 > 0:06:30to cover the cost of living for the next few days.

0:06:30 > 0:06:32It goes on bills, it goes on food,

0:06:32 > 0:06:36domestic products, takeaways, taxis,

0:06:36 > 0:06:39if I need any painkillers.

0:06:39 > 0:06:41It's hard. I'm demoralised, I suppose.

0:06:49 > 0:06:51Yeah, cheers, man. See you again, yeah?

0:06:51 > 0:06:54Thanks a lot. Bye. OK, I'll see you shortly, then.

0:06:58 > 0:07:00Despite having spent money on a cab to get there,

0:07:00 > 0:07:02the pawn shop wouldn't take Brandon's laptop,

0:07:02 > 0:07:05meaning he was out of money for the rest of the week.

0:07:05 > 0:07:07Argh!

0:07:07 > 0:07:09It's ridiculous.

0:07:09 > 0:07:12It's like I'm in a trip. It's so surreal.

0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's just like, what the fuck...?

0:07:14 > 0:07:15Chin up, mate.

0:07:15 > 0:07:18I don't want sympathy. Or empathy.

0:07:18 > 0:07:20I want a fucking leg. I want it to grow back.

0:07:28 > 0:07:30Later that day, Brandon talked me through

0:07:30 > 0:07:33how injecting had led to his leg being amputated.

0:07:33 > 0:07:35I missed a vein.

0:07:37 > 0:07:42And I think I blew a capillary, because I used a super-fine needle.

0:07:42 > 0:07:44Brandon showed me pictures of the abscess

0:07:44 > 0:07:47that he'd taken during his stay in the hospital.

0:07:47 > 0:07:50I was like that for two years. It got bigger and bigger.

0:07:50 > 0:07:55That's the 31st of the 12th 2015.

0:07:55 > 0:07:57After two years of fighting infection,

0:07:57 > 0:08:00doctors amputated Brandon's right leg below the knee.

0:08:00 > 0:08:03I didn't set out with the intent, you know, of doing this.

0:08:03 > 0:08:05This here, this is... You know what I mean?

0:08:05 > 0:08:08There's a lot of things I can't do.

0:08:08 > 0:08:10You know, I can't just run up to the shop.

0:08:12 > 0:08:13And that's depressing.

0:08:13 > 0:08:17It's made my life 100 times harder.

0:08:36 > 0:08:39Just injecting it. Trying to, anyway.

0:08:40 > 0:08:44This is the trouble I've got to go through.

0:08:44 > 0:08:45All the fucking time.

0:08:56 > 0:08:57(Yes.)

0:09:00 > 0:09:01I'm just pushing it.

0:09:07 > 0:09:09Thank fuck for that, man.

0:09:11 > 0:09:13Takes all fucking day otherwise.

0:09:16 > 0:09:18HE INHALES DEEPLY AND EXHALES

0:09:20 > 0:09:22Sorry about that.

0:09:22 > 0:09:26Them people out there watching this, don't fucking touch heroin.

0:09:32 > 0:09:37It hurts, you know, just to find a vein in my body.

0:09:37 > 0:09:43I don't know the reason why human beings hurt themselves.

0:09:43 > 0:09:44But...

0:09:46 > 0:09:49Yeah, I wish I had the answer, because...

0:09:51 > 0:09:54..perhaps I wouldn't do it any more, you know.

0:10:03 > 0:10:05Since losing his leg,

0:10:05 > 0:10:08Brandon has had to adapt to life as a disabled person.

0:10:09 > 0:10:11For the past few months,

0:10:11 > 0:10:14his friend Ed has been coming round to help him with day-to-day chores

0:10:14 > 0:10:17such as cooking, cleaning and doing the shopping.

0:10:17 > 0:10:19- Bran...- Yeah?

0:10:19 > 0:10:22- Tea or coffee? - I'll have coffee, please.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26Whilst Ed helps out when he can, Brandon has recently asked

0:10:26 > 0:10:29if he would consider becoming his full-time carer.

0:10:30 > 0:10:32He could claim carer's allowance

0:10:32 > 0:10:35and I'm allowed to claim severe disability payments,

0:10:35 > 0:10:37- or scheme or whatever it is, I don't know.- Yeah.

0:10:37 > 0:10:40- So you'd be Brandon's official carer?- Yeah.

0:10:40 > 0:10:42I've been thinking about it for a while,

0:10:42 > 0:10:44but we'll see how it pans out now.

0:10:44 > 0:10:46It all depends on, you know,

0:10:46 > 0:10:48if Brandon is serious about committing to this

0:10:48 > 0:10:51- and doesn't, you know, go off on...- 100%, Ed.

0:10:51 > 0:10:56- ..a mad scheme for a week and disappears.- No. No.

0:10:56 > 0:10:57Cos I know he does get...

0:10:57 > 0:11:01After a few months, he does get, like, "Ahh!"

0:11:02 > 0:11:04On top of losing one leg,

0:11:04 > 0:11:07it became apparent that the ulcer on Brandon's remaining leg

0:11:07 > 0:11:08was refusing to heal.

0:11:08 > 0:11:11This meant he was facing the real possibility

0:11:11 > 0:11:13of becoming a double amputee.

0:11:13 > 0:11:15Brandon was now relying on Ed

0:11:15 > 0:11:17to take him to and from medical appointments

0:11:17 > 0:11:20to have his wound cleaned and re-dressed.

0:11:22 > 0:11:24I'm in pain.

0:11:24 > 0:11:27- The infection's getting worse on the toe?- Yeah.

0:11:27 > 0:11:28HE GROANS

0:11:28 > 0:11:30See, that's...

0:11:31 > 0:11:33That's my leg.

0:11:33 > 0:11:36Underneath this area, this dressing, is an ulcer

0:11:36 > 0:11:39roughly the size of the dressing.

0:11:40 > 0:11:42Can you see the discolouration of the skin?

0:11:42 > 0:11:44That is what they're going to soak off. I can't take that off.

0:11:44 > 0:11:47- So if you take that off, it rips off the skin?- Yeah.

0:11:48 > 0:11:50- In pain?- Yeah, of course.

0:11:50 > 0:11:53..I'm filming at the minute, yeah?

0:11:53 > 0:11:55All right, bye. Bye.

0:11:55 > 0:11:58- How often do you have to go to get this wash?- Three times a week.

0:11:59 > 0:12:02- Does it hurt when they do it? - Yeah, it does, yeah.

0:12:04 > 0:12:05After speaking with Ed,

0:12:05 > 0:12:08it became apparent that Brandon was resorting to more

0:12:08 > 0:12:11than just prescription drugs to deal with his pain.

0:12:11 > 0:12:13None of the medication they've given him

0:12:13 > 0:12:17is having the time to work because he...can't stop smoking drugs.

0:12:17 > 0:12:21So his body's basically just going round in circles.

0:12:21 > 0:12:24He's discharged himself from hospital, I think, eight times.

0:12:24 > 0:12:28He was even smoking crack in the hospital at some point.

0:12:28 > 0:12:29BRANDON GROANS

0:12:29 > 0:12:32- Is that a bit better? - BRANDON GROANS

0:12:32 > 0:12:34Oh, God, I'm dead.

0:12:34 > 0:12:37Well, lucky you're not a horse, innit?

0:12:37 > 0:12:39- Oh, yeah, they'd shoot me.- Yeah.

0:12:39 > 0:12:41If I do all this and it ends up to be in vain,

0:12:41 > 0:12:44I'm sorry, I'm just going to say, "Brandon, I tried,

0:12:44 > 0:12:47"it's up to you, mate," and just walk away from it.

0:12:47 > 0:12:48You know?

0:12:48 > 0:12:50Bad enough losing one leg,

0:12:50 > 0:12:52but two through your own stupidity is...

0:12:56 > 0:13:00In Swansea, for injecting, is terrible.

0:13:02 > 0:13:06It's all squats where people just go in, inject,

0:13:06 > 0:13:09and just chuck their syringes on the floor.

0:13:11 > 0:13:16It's really bad for people injecting in Swansea. Real... Real bad.

0:14:43 > 0:14:45Although the squat Johnno was living in

0:14:45 > 0:14:48was filled with used needles and dirty injecting equipment,

0:14:48 > 0:14:51he'd managed to clear out a room for himself to sleep in.

0:15:24 > 0:15:27Injecting in squats like the one Johnno was staying in

0:15:27 > 0:15:30comes with a much higher risk of infection.

0:15:30 > 0:15:31It turned out Johnno

0:15:31 > 0:15:33had only recently had a very close call himself.

0:16:31 > 0:16:35I had an abscess that started eating away at my leg.

0:16:35 > 0:16:37I got a lift straight to the hospital

0:16:37 > 0:16:39cos I knew it was going to open up.

0:16:48 > 0:16:51It feels like as if someone's pouring

0:16:51 > 0:16:55a boiling hot kettle of water over your leg.

0:16:55 > 0:16:58It was a mess. It went outside the vein.

0:16:58 > 0:17:01It was...really painful.

0:17:04 > 0:17:07As you can see, it's healed up now.

0:17:07 > 0:17:10But I've known people to walk round for weeks

0:17:10 > 0:17:12with their leg...

0:17:12 > 0:17:15out...massive,

0:17:15 > 0:17:19all red raw, all the way down, and it's just like a balloon.

0:17:21 > 0:17:24The rise in injecting wounds and abscesses like Michael's

0:17:24 > 0:17:27has become a serious concern across South Wales.

0:17:31 > 0:17:34In Newport, needle exchange coordinator Mike Mallett

0:17:34 > 0:17:37has decided to take things into his own hands.

0:17:37 > 0:17:40A third of all injecting drug users

0:17:40 > 0:17:43will suffer some kind of wound, abscess,

0:17:43 > 0:17:46open ulcer, at some point per year.

0:17:46 > 0:17:50In March 2016, Mike opened a specialised wound clinic

0:17:50 > 0:17:52to treat injecting drug users.

0:17:54 > 0:17:56This is a mess, this is, in my leg.

0:17:56 > 0:18:00Cos I'm on the streets, I can't look after it as well as I'd like to,

0:18:00 > 0:18:02clean it and all that.

0:18:02 > 0:18:03Not looking too good,

0:18:03 > 0:18:05but it's looking a lot better than what it was.

0:18:05 > 0:18:08That black skin is what we call necrotic, OK?

0:18:08 > 0:18:10And that's basically what we want to take out.

0:18:10 > 0:18:12So what the dressings do that I'm going to put on,

0:18:12 > 0:18:15- help to break that down and liquefy it...- OK.- ..and draws it off,

0:18:15 > 0:18:17so don't worry if it looks a bit wet or it gets a bit smelly.

0:18:17 > 0:18:20- That's what the dressings are designed to do.- OK.

0:18:20 > 0:18:24- So, this is just sterile water.- OK. - Just so I can wash it.- Yeah.

0:18:24 > 0:18:26'People in these situations

0:18:26 > 0:18:29'can become very, very isolated very quickly.'

0:18:29 > 0:18:32There is that stigma attached to being a drug user,

0:18:32 > 0:18:37and that's often what restricts the drive to go and seek help,

0:18:37 > 0:18:40because they're worried about how they're going to be perceived,

0:18:40 > 0:18:41how they're going to be met.

0:18:41 > 0:18:44If you hadn't have been able to come here, what would you have done?

0:18:44 > 0:18:46Do you know what? It would have been...

0:18:46 > 0:18:48I would have left it, get really bad,

0:18:48 > 0:18:50and probably got rushed into hospital

0:18:50 > 0:18:52with septicaemia or something,

0:18:52 > 0:18:55cos like I said, I've got no access to any doctor

0:18:55 > 0:18:58or any medical help, so it's only the hospital,

0:18:58 > 0:19:00and I don't really like going there.

0:19:00 > 0:19:05I'd say 95% of doctors are very anti-drug

0:19:05 > 0:19:08and, you know, they say, "Oh, it's self-inflicted."

0:19:08 > 0:19:11The vast majority of injecting drug users

0:19:11 > 0:19:16are highly stigmatised by health professionals,

0:19:16 > 0:19:19who perhaps are less than sympathetic

0:19:19 > 0:19:22and treat those individuals differently.

0:19:22 > 0:19:25If you know you are not going to be treated well,

0:19:25 > 0:19:28you are less likely to come forward for help.

0:19:28 > 0:19:31To explain just how bad the problem had got,

0:19:31 > 0:19:32Mike decided to show me pictures

0:19:32 > 0:19:36of some of the most serious wounds he'd treated in the past few months.

0:19:36 > 0:19:37When she came in to see me,

0:19:37 > 0:19:40she didn't have a bandage or anything,

0:19:40 > 0:19:42so when she presented here,

0:19:42 > 0:19:45she actually had a tea towel covering that wound,

0:19:45 > 0:19:47cos that's all she had in the house.

0:19:47 > 0:19:49It is like battlefield dressing sometimes.

0:19:49 > 0:19:55If you're injecting four £10 bags of heroin a day

0:19:55 > 0:19:57and you're still feeling that pain,

0:19:57 > 0:20:01my God, what would it be like without the heroin?

0:20:01 > 0:20:05There is that potential for much greater damage than we currently see

0:20:05 > 0:20:09because of that inability or reluctance or difficulty

0:20:09 > 0:20:13in accessing treatment, and however relatively minor,

0:20:13 > 0:20:15if it doesn't get any kind of intervention,

0:20:15 > 0:20:17it's going to get worse.

0:20:17 > 0:20:19It was clear from speaking to Mike's patients

0:20:19 > 0:20:22the wound clinic was the only place many felt they could go

0:20:22 > 0:20:23and be treated fairly.

0:20:23 > 0:20:25If it weren't for places like this,

0:20:25 > 0:20:28I know there's half a dozen men walking round town

0:20:28 > 0:20:30that'd be in chairs with no legs.

0:20:30 > 0:20:32You don't get it...

0:20:32 > 0:20:33You can talk to people about it,

0:20:33 > 0:20:36but you ain't going to find anywhere else like this.

0:20:36 > 0:20:40For Mike, early intervention wasn't just about helping people in pain.

0:20:40 > 0:20:45There was also, potentially, a serious knock-on effect for the NHS.

0:20:45 > 0:20:48There's a human cost and there's a financial cost.

0:20:48 > 0:20:50More drugs, different types of medications,

0:20:50 > 0:20:52possibly even surgery, hospital admissions.

0:20:52 > 0:20:55Eventually, it costs everyone.

0:20:55 > 0:20:58You know, wounds can develop into septicaemia, into sepsis,

0:20:58 > 0:21:00you can lose limbs, you can lose your life.

0:21:02 > 0:21:05Although Mike's clinic offers hope for younger users

0:21:05 > 0:21:07seeking treatment in the future,

0:21:07 > 0:21:10back in Swansea, Brandon had already lost one limb

0:21:10 > 0:21:12and was in danger of losing another.

0:21:12 > 0:21:14RINGING TONE

0:21:14 > 0:21:15When I caught up with him,

0:21:15 > 0:21:18he was desperately searching for alternative treatments

0:21:18 > 0:21:21in a bid to save his remaining leg.

0:21:21 > 0:21:24I did lose my right leg in the end.

0:21:24 > 0:21:26- WOMAN:- 'Aw, bless.'

0:21:26 > 0:21:29Now it's my left leg that's sore and what have you,

0:21:29 > 0:21:31and I don't want to lose my left leg.

0:21:31 > 0:21:32After weeks of waiting,

0:21:32 > 0:21:35Brandon finally managed to book a session with a local charity

0:21:35 > 0:21:38who offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

0:21:38 > 0:21:40- Hi, Brendan. All right?- Hello. Hi.

0:21:40 > 0:21:43You're going to be in there for an hour and a half,

0:21:43 > 0:21:47- so if you need to use the loo... - Yeah.- ..better go now!

0:21:47 > 0:21:48SHE LAUGHS

0:21:48 > 0:21:50Brandon was hoping the hyperbaric treatment

0:21:50 > 0:21:54would help to heal his abscess and save his remaining leg.

0:21:54 > 0:21:58'It's available for a multitude of things.

0:21:58 > 0:22:01'In Brandon's case, we're looking for wound healing.

0:22:01 > 0:22:03'It heals from the inside out.'

0:22:05 > 0:22:06AIR HISSES

0:22:06 > 0:22:08It gives your chest a good workout, too.

0:22:08 > 0:22:10- Because it...- Oh. - AIR HISSES

0:22:10 > 0:22:12- Because it... - AIR HISSES

0:22:12 > 0:22:15- It's what they call a demand valve. - AIR HISSES

0:22:15 > 0:22:18The charity offering the therapy was run on donations

0:22:18 > 0:22:22and set up for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis.

0:22:22 > 0:22:25I wanted to ask Christine, who ran the centre,

0:22:25 > 0:22:28why she decided to give Brandon a much sought-after seat

0:22:28 > 0:22:29in the oxygen chamber.

0:22:29 > 0:22:32'So, people with MS are prioritised.'

0:22:32 > 0:22:35After that, it's basically life-threatening.

0:22:37 > 0:22:41I had no idea that, you know, it was through drug use.

0:22:41 > 0:22:43Not that that would make any difference.

0:22:43 > 0:22:48Everybody needs care regardless of how it happens, you know.

0:22:48 > 0:22:50Why did he choose to go down that road?

0:22:50 > 0:22:52Was it peer pressure? How young was he?

0:22:52 > 0:22:54Was it desperation? Was it despondency?

0:22:54 > 0:22:55Was it depression?

0:22:55 > 0:22:59Is it making me feel better? Initially, probably, it was.

0:22:59 > 0:23:01Just because you've made that bad choice

0:23:01 > 0:23:03doesn't mean to say you're a bad person.

0:23:07 > 0:23:08My whole life fell apart.

0:23:08 > 0:23:11One of my ex-missus ran off with my kids

0:23:11 > 0:23:14and denied me access to my children.

0:23:14 > 0:23:18My business fell apart, everything, the home fell apart.

0:23:18 > 0:23:19Or I fell apart.

0:23:27 > 0:23:31You obviously had this sort of break-up of your family

0:23:31 > 0:23:32when you were 32.

0:23:32 > 0:23:35- Have you ever really recovered from that?- No.

0:23:35 > 0:23:36No.

0:23:39 > 0:23:43- Do you consider...? - Well, look at me. I mean...

0:23:43 > 0:23:46Losing my sight. I've lost my right leg.

0:23:47 > 0:23:51I've lost my left leg, almost, eventually, or soon.

0:23:51 > 0:23:53Hopefully not.

0:23:55 > 0:23:57- You know. - How do you come back from it?

0:23:59 > 0:24:01I don't know.

0:24:02 > 0:24:06I don't know. Maybe I'm just lost and there's no way back.

0:24:06 > 0:24:09There's no breadcrumbs for me to follow, you know.

0:24:09 > 0:24:11And, um...

0:24:13 > 0:24:15I don't know what to do.

0:24:21 > 0:24:23Oh, God, it's snapped.

0:24:24 > 0:24:26- What snapped?- The pipe.

0:24:26 > 0:24:29- You snapped the crack pipe? - I have, yeah.

0:24:29 > 0:24:32- How have you managed that? - I don't know. Don't know.

0:24:32 > 0:24:34Oh, bloody hell.

0:24:35 > 0:24:38Just going to tape it back together.

0:24:41 > 0:24:42RINGING TONE

0:24:46 > 0:24:48Ed, can you bring some tape over quickly?

0:24:48 > 0:24:50(I've just snapped the crack pipe.)

0:24:50 > 0:24:53- 'You've snapped what?' - (The crack pipe.)

0:24:53 > 0:24:57- 'The crack pipe?'- (The crack pipe, I've snapped it in half.)

0:24:57 > 0:24:58'Sellotape, yeah?'

0:24:58 > 0:25:00Yeah, something, please, quickly, yeah, before they notice.

0:25:00 > 0:25:03'All right, all right. I've got a pair of tongs as well.'

0:25:03 > 0:25:04Oh, wicked.

0:25:04 > 0:25:07- All right. - INDISTINCT SPEECH

0:25:07 > 0:25:08OK, see you shortly.

0:25:10 > 0:25:11'The crack pipe Brandon had broken

0:25:11 > 0:25:13'belonged to someone else in the house

0:25:13 > 0:25:16'and he was keen to fix it before they found out.'

0:25:16 > 0:25:20- Surely they'll notice when you tape it back together.- Hopefully...

0:25:20 > 0:25:23But they'll notice the Sellotape on it.

0:25:23 > 0:25:24BRANDON CHUCKLES

0:25:26 > 0:25:27HE COUGHS

0:25:32 > 0:25:33HE SIGHS

0:25:35 > 0:25:36Well done, Ed.

0:25:37 > 0:25:39Ed, can you quickly do this?

0:25:47 > 0:25:48OK?

0:25:48 > 0:25:50Yeah, it's OK.

0:25:50 > 0:25:54- Yeah?- Yeah.- You look like you've done that before, Ed.

0:25:54 > 0:25:55Yeah, I have. A few times.

0:26:01 > 0:26:03For Michael, Brandon and Johnno,

0:26:03 > 0:26:06there were familiar issues of coping with pain and trauma,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09whether it was a battle with addiction, loss of a limb,

0:26:09 > 0:26:12or the cutting isolation of homelessness,

0:26:12 > 0:26:14being kept away from your family.

0:26:23 > 0:26:26Do you think when your kids grow up, they would understand?

0:26:32 > 0:26:34TEARFULLY:

0:26:49 > 0:26:53Heroin's not going to ruin my life any more, you know.

0:26:53 > 0:26:56I know perhaps I'm doing it now,

0:26:56 > 0:26:59but I'm going to cut myself down slowly

0:26:59 > 0:27:03till it's just me and my script, and that's it.

0:27:03 > 0:27:06Sometimes it brings me close to tears.

0:27:07 > 0:27:11I know the damage I've done to myself.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13I don't want to lose my leg.

0:27:13 > 0:27:16I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

0:27:16 > 0:27:18Since I've lost my leg,

0:27:18 > 0:27:23obviously my confidence has gone, depression's set in.

0:27:24 > 0:27:28You know, I've had suicidal thoughts and all sorts of things.

0:27:28 > 0:27:30And it's not me and it's not what I want.

0:27:30 > 0:27:32It's just too negative.

0:27:32 > 0:27:35I hope it doesn't prevent me from doing the things that I dream of.

0:27:59 > 0:28:02You or I enjoy family, friends, loved ones.

0:28:02 > 0:28:04When we're down, they'll back us up.

0:28:04 > 0:28:07A lot of injecting drug users don't have that.

0:28:07 > 0:28:10The more isolated they become, the more vulnerable they become.

0:28:10 > 0:28:16Drug users require specialist services where they are.

0:28:17 > 0:28:19We need to have a rethink.

0:28:25 > 0:28:28If I'm trying not to use and I end up using,

0:28:28 > 0:28:30I really beat myself up.

0:28:30 > 0:28:34But I've got to realise it's just one little step at a time.

0:28:37 > 0:28:40It feels like sometimes that...

0:28:40 > 0:28:42I need drugs to survive.

0:28:44 > 0:28:46And that's a scary thought.

0:29:04 > 0:29:07I went out on Friday night for my birthday.

0:29:07 > 0:29:11I had about eight cans of Bud as well, so that cheered me up.

0:29:11 > 0:29:13And I can't really remember much.

0:29:13 > 0:29:15It was quite a quiet night.

0:29:15 > 0:29:17- Happy birthday, Ed. - ED LAUGHS

0:29:17 > 0:29:19# Happy birthday to you!

0:29:19 > 0:29:23# Happy birthday to you

0:29:23 > 0:29:28# Happy birthday, dear Edward

0:29:28 > 0:29:30# Happy birthday to you. #

0:29:32 > 0:29:33- And a cake.- Oh, bloody hell.

0:29:33 > 0:29:36- I've got to blow them out now, have I?- Yeah, and a wish, yeah.

0:29:36 > 0:29:39- You've got... - PARTY POPPER POPS

0:29:39 > 0:29:41THEY LAUGH

0:29:41 > 0:29:43Put it there.

0:29:43 > 0:29:45- Thank you.- Appreciate that, right.

0:29:45 > 0:29:48- I know, I know. - He's a good man, honestly.

0:29:48 > 0:29:49Would anyone like some cake?

0:29:49 > 0:29:52Ed Walker, ladies and gentlemen!

0:29:52 > 0:29:54Thank you!

0:29:54 > 0:29:56BRANDON PLAYS A TUNE

0:29:56 > 0:29:58I'd just love a girlfriend.

0:29:58 > 0:30:01I'd love a car, I'd love to be able to drive.

0:30:03 > 0:30:06I'd love my legs... I'd love new legs.

0:30:06 > 0:30:07Can you give me new legs?!

0:30:09 > 0:30:10See why we stay here?

0:30:12 > 0:30:16- Cos it's God's country? - It's all God's country, isn't it?

0:30:48 > 0:30:50- GUITAR STOPS - Do you know the words?!

0:30:50 > 0:30:52Huh? Sorry, I was falling asleep.