I was left with MAGGOT-infested six-inch gaping wounds in my legs after deadly drug addiction ruined my life
I was left with MAGGOT-infested six-inch gaping wounds in my legs after deadly drug addiction ruined my life
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A DAD-of-one has told how he was left with six-inch weeping holes in his legs after suffering a deadly drug addiction. Two decades ago, Paul Hannaford's sores were so severe that he faced double amputation - but now he uses his injuries to stop children from following in his footsteps.
![[Paul Hannaford at a drug awareness event.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sickening-sores-i-left-horrific-966050508.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
Last year, drug awareness advocate Paul, 55, celebrated 18 years clean of drugs and alcohol after his heroin and crack addiction nearly killed him. He spent £2million on drugs over two decades and during his darkest days he was injecting himself 50 times a day.
![[Man with severe leg wounds sitting on a hospital bed.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0c4f946e-6d18-4072-8fca-176d53c1b5fd.jpg?strip=all&w=714)
Now Paul has swapped crack dens for schools across the country and has dedicated his life to sharing his harrowing life story in brutally honest workshops. Paul told The Sun: "Kids cry in my workshops, they pass out. I’ve had thousands of kids faint.
![[Graphic images of severe leg wounds.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sickening-sores-i-left-horrific-966049488.png?strip=all&w=397)
"I show them pictures of me in hospital with maggots in my legs and tell them what it’s like to be brutally stabbed because I owed drug dealers money. “I told them what it’s like to be locked up for 24 hours a day in a prison cell and become very lonely.
"I tell them about what it’s like to not see family at Christmas because I’m sat in drug dens sharing needles with other addicts. "I’ve not just stepped out of an office or downloaded some rubbish from the internet to put on the screen for kids. "Kids these days are hardcore, they need evidence and I'm living evidence of the consequences of drug abuse and gang culture," he explained.
![[Large group of school children with hands raised, listening to a speaker named Paul Hannaford.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sickening-sores-i-left-horrific-966040668.png?strip=all&w=626)
