Police are continuing a round-the-clock vigil on a suspected drug dealer who has refused to go to the toilet for the past 37 days after being arrested for allegedly swallowing his stash .

Lamarr Chambers, 24, was arrested by police on Wednesday, January 17, for failing to stop in Ladyshot, Harlow, Essex, along with intent to supply Class A drugs.

He has been held in custody for more than a month since his arrest as the police wait until he poos out the drugs he is believed to have swallowed.

Chambers, 24, was arrested by police on Wednesday, January 17, for failing to stop in Ladyshot, Harlow, Essex, along with intent to supply class A drugs

Essex police have regularly posted on Chambers' progress - or lack of it - on social media

So far Chambers has spent more than a month custody without using the bathroom, but medics are constantly checking on him

Police say they are perfectly happy to wait until Chambers deposits the Class A drugs he is alleged to have swallowed (file photo)

Essex Police said there was 'no update' on the 24-year-old suspected gang member as they continue their vigil.

Medical experts say there is a small chance of his bowels bursting but a force spokesman today refused to provide 'blow by blow' daily updates.

They say there won't be an update on his condition 'until he has done what we need him to do'.

Following Chambers' arrest, policing team Operation Raptor West tweeted to say: 'London gang nominal arrested for failing to stop for police and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, male doesn't think we have the power to keep him until he removes said items from his bottom.'

But more than a month later, the team based at Harlow police station, Essex, are still waiting.

Operation Raptor West is Essex Police's gang and urban street crime unit for Harlow, Epping Forest, Brentwood and Thurrock districts.

Chambers is undergoing daily medical tests but research shows that holding your poo for a significant amount of time might not be as bad as you think.

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

London gang nominal arrested for failing to stop for police and possession with intent to supply class A drugs, male doesn't think we have the power to keep him until he removes said items from his bottom

'You won't get a devastating build-up of toxins that can poison the body in such a short space of time.

'You're just going to get a lot of uncomfortable stretching of intestinal tubes.

'This is an acute situation, not chronic.

'Ultimately, things will move through the bowel and it'll empty itself.

'Most people have been there.'

She explains the longer you go without excreting the more uncomfortable it is going to be.

She added: 'The suspect will feel his bowel moving, trying to empty. He'll be holding his sphincter tight.'

Officers have claimed the 24-year-old is also refusing to eat, but Ms Macnair has explained that fasting will not prevent the suspect from doing what is natural.

She said: 'Even if you're not eating, the bowel will still move. That's because only about a third of what you find in faeces is food debris.

'A lot of it is dead, friendly bacteria and the lining of the bowel which is constantly shedding, like skin. Plus, lots of fluid.'

Ms McNair went to explain 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 added: 'I'm amazed he's held on for so long. It's only a matter of time.'