A MAN believed to be high on Monkey Dust has been arrested after trying to put out a lit cigarette with a petrol pump.

Officers were called to the petrol station on Waterloo Road in the Burslem area of Stoke-on-Trent at around 8am this morning.

Police praised staff at the garage for their bravery in trying to stop the man as police raced to the scene.

Monkey Dust is a synthetic Class B drug which can produce psychotic highs which last for a number of days.

Also known as Zombie or Cannibal Dust, owing to its violent side effects — it is an off-white powder that can be swallowed, injected or snorted and costs around £2 for a single hit.

Side effects include intense paranoia and a feeling of being pursued by imaginary demons.

Its chemical name is Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, and it has been linked to face-eating attacks in the US.

A spokesman for the force said officers believe the man had taken the drug before embarking on the potentially deadly action.

He said: "Officers have arrested a male high on Monkey Dust after he tried to put a lit cigarette out with a petrol pump.

"Brave and swift action from staff prevented a potential disaster."

Last month Staffordshire Police revealed they had been called to 950 incidents involving monkey dust in just three months.

In July, police linked the deaths of two men and the illness of a third in Telford, Shrops, to a bad batch of the drug.

In January, West Mercia cops warned it was “doing the rounds” in Worcestershire.