A former cocaine addict has shared a graphic image showing how the drug ravaged his body during a 25-year habit.
Ian Higginson hopes the picture will act as a warning to others tempted to experiment with the drug.
The 44-year-old took cocaine regularly for nearly a quarter of a century after first trying it when he was a teenager.
In a graphic image posted on Facebook, he showed how sniffing the drug had destroyed the inside of his nose.
Ian, from Manchester, was admitted to hospital in 2016 when he fell ill with what doctors said was an infection of the brain.
He told the Manchester Evening News : "When I blew my nose lumps of flesh would come out. I was disgusting.
"The pain was so bad, but I'd still put coke up it to try and stop it.
"I ended up really poorly in hospital, they said it was a brain infection and thought there may be cancer, but my nose was too badly destroyed to tell if it was carcinogenic or not."
Ian said he had spent £400-a-week on his habit after first becoming addicted while working as an air steward.
He also worked as a bouncer before starting his own businesses, which earned him more and more money to spend on cocaine.
Ian added: "When my mum died she left me her house, it was worth £160k - I spent at least half of that cash on cocaine."
"I was a functional user," he added. "I'd go to work every day as normal and then I'd come home and sniff cocaine. It just became the norm."
Ian said: "It's ruined every relationship I've ever had because I would always put cocaine before them.
"I couldn't even look after myself because I put it before me, I was a complete slave to it."
Ian finally managed to kick the habit and has now been clean since June last year. He has a new job and is in a happy relationship with his girlfriend Emma.
"My addiction was like a jail sentence and since I've been clean I feel like I have been released", he added.
His Facebook post has been shared hundreds of times since he decided to put it on social media.
"There are so many people out there who are themselves or know someone affected by cocaine use, it is that wide of a problem" he added.
"I just want to give something back so that people can see if I can do it, so can they.
"Even if it helps just one person, it will be worth it."
