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A suspected drug dealer has now been on a toilet strike in custody for 34 days after he was accused of 'swallowing a substance'.

Earlier this week, on February 19, Lamarr Chambers appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court as police applied for another section 152 order, meaning he would remain in custody for a further five days.

It comes after he has now held his bowel movements for almost five full weeks.

But while Essex Police can offer Mr Chambers all possible means of 'helping him go' - they can't actually force him to take any medication.

Speaking on behalf of the Crown, Kathy Wilson QC said: "Mr Chambers has not properly been to the toilet for some 33 days.

"You have to consider whether or not he is not taking on enough food in order to frustrate the seizing of police evidence.

"He is being more than adequately looked after by Essex Police. He has been offered fluids and food.

(Image: @OpRaptorWest/Twitter)

"His lights are dimmed at night and he is being reviewed every 24 hours. If he requests to go to the hospital he is taken there. There is reference to him passing stools.

"It is in fact questionable as to whether any faecal matter was collected.

"He did wipe his bottom and there was a stain on the toilet paper. Had any amount of faecal matter been passed, we would not be in this position today."

What can the police do?

The police have the power to keep a suspect in custody if such detention is required to secure or preserve evidence.

Criminal barrister of 22 years, Edward Connell, said: "If the police's powers of detention are going to expire, as has happened here, they can apply to the Magistrates' Court for warrants of further detention.

"It seems to me that the authorities should be doing all they can reasonably do in order to facilitate the bowel movement of Mr Chambers - reasonable actions would be offering scans, X rays and offering laxative medication.

"But in my opinion they cannot compel the suspect to undergo any of those procedures.

"Provided there are good grounds to suspect he has swallowed drugs and the authorities are satisfied that the police are doing all they reasonably can to facilitate the procedure then I anticipate the Court will continue to detain him until nature takes its course."

Sophie Walker, Human Rights Barrister at One Pump Court, currently representing Lamarr Chambers said: "

"The police are allowed to detain a suspect for a maximum of eight days at a time, after which the person has to be returned to court for a judge to decide whether to renew his detention for another eight days.

(Image: iStockphoto)

"Mr Chambers has now spent 34 days in custody, and there is no maximum time limit as long as the court continue to authorise his detention.

"It is arguable that at some point a “tipping point” will be reached where he may be released as the danger to his health (death is a possibility) becomes more important than the police’s right to investigate a suspected drugs offence.

"However, it is perhaps unlikely that a detainee could ever “hold out” long enough for that argument to be successful.

"However, Mr Chambers cannot be forced to accept medical treatment, unless of course there is a medical emergency and then the prison would not need his consent for him to receive life-saving treatment."

After his initial arrest, Mr Chambers had been eating Frosties cereal bars and, as time went on, he would eat up to eight of them a day.

However, since his last court appearance, he has now swapped his diet to that of fruit and vegetables.

(Image: @OpRaptorWest/Twitter)

It was also revealed that Chambers had eaten fish made by his mother prior to his appearance before magistrates.

Trish Macnair, from the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology, said: "There's only so long you can hang on.

Macnair also said that there is a small risk of the bowel swelling and bursting but in a young, healthy person, you'd expect the bowel to empty itself before that happened.

She said: "I'm amazed he's held on for so long. It's only a matter of time."

On Saturday, February 10, Chambers broke the British record for spending the most days in police custody without defecating - which was previously 23 days.

Operation Raptor West, which is Essex Police's gang and urban street crime unit for Harlow, Epping Forest, Brentwood and the Thurrock districts, had been updating the public through Twitter on the situation using the hashtag #poowatch.

(Image: Harlow Star / SWNS)

Last week, they said on Twitter: "Day 21/3 weeks for our man on poowatch still no movements/items to report, he will remain with us until Friday when we are back at court where we will be requesting a further 8 days should he not produce anything before that hearing opraptor."

Despite documenting the man's lack of bowel movements on Twitter for the first 22 days, Essex Police said via a spokesman that a "running commentary on the situation will not be given".

Chambers has been remanded in police custody until Friday, February 23, where he will appear once again in Chelmsford Magistrates' Court.