A 21-year-old injecting drug user who was being treated for the flesh eating bug - necrotising fasciitis - has died.

The man was admitted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last Friday, but a spokesman said there was no evidence to link his death to others in the Argyll and Clyde and Greater Glasgow Health Board areas.

The man's death on Wednesday prompted health chiefs to issue a public safety warning to drug users.

Eight injecting drug users developed serious illnesses, including necrotising fasciitis, in July in the Argyll and Clyde and Greater Glasgow health board areas.

But a Lothian Health spokesman said: "There is no evidence linking the Edinburgh case with these cases."

'Don't inject'

Drug agencies in Lothian have been alerted to the Edinburgh case, and have been issued with advice for addicts.

Users are being warned there is no way they can tell if the heroin they use is likely to cause the infection - they have been advised to smoke their heroin rather than inject it.

The advice also recommends that users do not share needles or equipment, and to use as little citric acid as possible to dissolve heroin.

If the users inject more than one type of drug, they are being advised to do so at separate locations on their body with clean equipment.

A spokesman said: "This is important because certain drugs, such as cocaine, could give bacteria in heroin a better chance to grow."