Police have shut a street in south Manchester after a man consumed an “unknown substance” believed to be ricin, a highly potent poison.
Eyewitnesses shared pictures online of firefighters wearing hazmat suits as they arrived at the scene in Northern Moor, Wythenshawe, on Saturday.
Greater Manchester Police said it was called to the incident shortly before 9am following concerns about a man’s welfare at a property on Moor Lane.
“It was established that the man had consumed an, at this time, unknown substance,” a spokesperson for the force said.
The man, who is in his 20s, was initially treated at the scene and remains in a stable condition, police said.
It is understood he consumed poisonous seeds. Ricin is produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, and a dose of purified powder as small as several grains of table salt can be enough to kill an adult.
The North West Ambulance Service tweeted that it had taken one person to hospital.
GMP said there was “no wider threat” to the public.
A witness told the PA news agency: “His mother came out shouting in her pyjamas ’Where are they? My f****** son is dying in there. Where the f*** is the ambulance?
“The fire service entered first with those bio and hazmat suits on and pushed a gurney into the house.”
A cordon was put in place around Moor Lane, which was closed to traffic.
A GMP spokesman said in a statement: “Police were called by the ambulance service shortly before 9am this morning to a report of concern for the welfare of a man at a property on Moor Lane, Northern Moor.”