Police force apologises for tweeting picture of mental health patient who stabbed himself

The image posted showed a man's foot propped up on a cushion, wrapped in a bandage with the knife clearly stuck into the top of his foot. Credit: PA

A police force have admitted they shouldn't have posted a picture of amental health patient who had stabbed himself in the foot with a knife on social media before taking him to hospital.

The tweet, posted by Durham RPU, reads: "Mental health patient selfharming, on arrival male had hammered knife into his foot.. Ouch! Off tohospital #Teamc"

The image shows a man's foot propped up on a cushion, wrapped in a bandage with the knife clearly stuck into the top of his foot.

The Durham half of the Cleveland & Durham Specialist Operations Unituploaded the picture they had taken during their call out yesterday afternoon, July 19.

Chief Inspector Alison Jackson, acting head of the Cleveland and DurhamSpecialist Operations Unit, said there are occasions "where sometimes we don't get it right."

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, the mental health charity, added: "We are concerned about this Tweet, which could be seen as trivialising self-harm."

Anyone struggling with their mental health or experiencing feelings about self-harm can click here for more advice.