A man was saved from a deliberate overdose after police used a newly rolled-out treatment.

Naloxone, a nasal spray which temporarily reverses the effects of opiate drugs, was used to save a life in Croxley Green, Herts Police said.

The man had intentionally overdosed on prescription opiate medication, last month, and became unresponsive while talking to officers as they waited for an ambulance.

Using the spray bought time for him to be taken to hospital for further treatment.

Naloxone was rolled-out across Hertfordshire in April after a six-month trial in Dacorum, Stevenage, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield.

The force said six lives have already been saved using the spray.

The “easy to use” treatment “buys vital time” but does not replace further hospital treatment. If administered to someone who has not suffered a drug overdose it does not do any harm.

In November last year police said a woman may have been saved from death in Watford during the treatment’s trial.

A patient in her 20s had gone missing from a clinic in the town and was traced to an alleyway off Lower High Street before police arrived and used the spray.

Paramedics arrived a few minutes later and the woman was taken to hospital.

Dacorum Chief Inspector Jason Keane said: “In just a few weeks officers on our frontline have been key in saving the lives of three members of the public.

“Naloxone is easy to administer and buys vital time before paramedics arrive and as demonstrated can be the difference between life and death.

“To date more than 250 officers from the constabulary have been trained in administering naloxone and this is another addition to our trauma kits to enable us to best serve the public.”

The treatment was also recently used in Hemel Hempstead and Cheshunt.

It was used after a man had shown signs of a possible drug overdose in Saturn Way, Hemel, earlier this month before he was taken to hospital by ambulance.

In Russells Ride, Chesunt, officers discovered a woman who apparently had a history of drug use “slipping in and out of consciousness”.

The medication was administered and when paramedics arrived and she was taken to hospital.