BBC expose 'celebrity wey dey use injector lift bum-bum' and leave women wit sepsis

One self-styled "beauty consultant", wey celebrity client list includes Katie Price, dey offer potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures to client and e dey hand ova medication illegally - one BBC investigation don discover.

Ricky Sawyer dey specialise in liquid Brazilian butt-lifts (BBLs) - wey involve injecting dermal filler into di bum bum to lift dem and make dem look bigger.

BBC News don tok to five of im clients wey need emergency hospital treatment afta dia procedures. We also been show di testimonies of more dan 30 women wey tok say dem dey live wit serious complications such as sepsis and necrosis (tissue death).

One woman tell us she bin feel to rather "die" dan make she kontinu wit di pain, she dey feel afta di treatment.

Several local authorities don ban Oga Sawyer from practising for dia areas.

Our undercover filming capture Sawyer as e dey hand out antibiotics without valid prescription - criminal offence. E no dey qualified to prescribe and di pills no get label for specific patient.

E also offer to inject increasing doses of local anaesthetic witout any prescriber present - again illegal - and e no ask for our reporter weight, putting her at risk of overdose.

Posing as potential client and her friend, we book 45-minute appointment wit Mr Sawyer through im Instagram page. We tell am we want 200ml (7fl oz) liquid BBL injection wey cost £1,200. We pay £200 deposit.

Despite say e advertise say dem go carry out all di liquid BBLs under di guidance of an "ultrasound specialist doctor", none dey present for im pop-up clinic. E dey work out for one small room in east London office block - one non-clinical environment wey go increase di risk of infection.

Within five minutes wey dem dey im office, oga Sawyer don begin to encourage our tori pesin to tink about increasing di amount of filler. "You fit dey surprise about how much product you go get and still look natural," e suggest.

By di end of the appointment, Sawyer don offer to inject one litre of filler - 500ml (almost a pint) per bum bum - wey go cost £2,000.

We no do am and later return to put our allegations to Sawyer - but e refuse to ansa our kwesions and close di door on our reporter.

Reviewing our footage, plastic surgeon Dalvi Humzah, wey siddon on di Joint Council of Cosmetic Practitioners, say Sawyer actions dey "shocking", "very dangerous", and put patients at huge risk of infection and potentially deadly complications.

"Putting volume in, for one sitting, dey really dangerous," oga Humzah tok. "Di buttocks na such large area wey fit dem become infected e go affect di body and e fit end in sepsis - or even make di pesin die."

Di filler dem dey use for liquid BBLs get hyaluronic acid, wey dem dey commonly used in facial filling treatments.

Becos large amounts of di acid dey involve in BBLs, and e get risk of serious side effect such as blood clots and sepsis, dem dey regard am as one of di most dangerous cosmetic procedures.

Oga Sawyer dey boast on camera say im dey do up to seven procedures in one day, six days in one week. E dey charge thousands of pounds per appointment.

One of di women wey tok say she don experience serious complications afta receiving liquid BBL from oga Sawyer na Joanne. Mama of two pikin from south Wales, she only want her first name, she travel seven hours to Essex for di treatment.

She don do oda cosmetic treatments bifor and she dey see Ricky Sawyer many adverts and celebrity endorsements, liquid BBL no be like big step to her.

All she want, she tok say, na "peachy bum".

But wen Joanne arrive, she begin to get second thoughts.

She tok say dem only send her one postcode and she waka enta one industrial estate.

In di end, she find one small door into one block of flats and dem tell am to wait for one "dingy little hallway" for about half one hour.

"I suppose turn and ran," she tok, "but I don pay £600 deposit and travel all dis way."

Dem carry her enta one small room wia na "only one bed, tiny stool and worktop", and na dia she first meet Ricky Sawyer.

Afta counting out di rest of her cash - £2,000 in total - she say e tell her to stand for im front while e sit on di stool.

As e start to inject her wit litre (1.8 pints) of filler, di pain quickly become unbearable.

"I felt dizzy, sick and like shaky. My legs no even move properly. And within one minute wey im start," she tok say. "I remember say I dey look round and e get white gloves dey full of blood."

By di end of di procedure, Joanne dey in pain: "I dey in so much pain, my bum bum don completely disfigured."

She say she fit barely sit down. By di time she get home di swelling don start and she fit hardly walk.

"I message Ricky many times tok about how bad I dey feel and how worried I dey. E just tell me to take my antibiotics."

By dis point, sepsis don dey happun.

"My temperature dey go up and I feel terrible," Joanne tok. "I phone 999, becos I dey sweat and shout."

For hospital, dem give her intravenous antibiotics. At one point, one surgeon draw on her bum bum to show wia dem need to cut, becos di infection dey spread so quickly.

Afta messaging Ricky Sawyer say she dey for hospital wit sepsis, she say e block her from im Instagram account.

Fortunately, Joanne no need operation.

Anoda of Sawyer clients, Louise Moller, need life-saving emergency surgery.

Four days afta she receive liquid BBL for im Essex clinic in October 2023, di 28-year-old from Bolton land for hospital.

She call her mama, Janet, from Salford Royal A&E department, she tok say: "Mum, I tink say I go die."

Louise don contract sepsis and surgeon warn am say she fit die at any minute. To stop di infection from moving through her body, dem cut dead tissue out of di area almost covering her entire left bum bum.

Janet promise her daughter say she go stop dis make e no happun to anoda pesin and report Ricky Sawyer to dia local police station for Bolton.

"How e fit go on wen e know say e fit e kill someone?" she tell di BBC.

However, Louise case highlights di difficulty in holding practitioners like am accountable.

Janet say di police for Bolton tell am say dem go need to pass di file to Essex Police, wia di incident hapun.

Prosecution fit dey difficult however, she warn, becos Louise don sign consent form.

BBC News don approach both Greater Manchester Police and Essex Police to get update on di case - both tok say e depend on odas to do di investigation.

From legal point of view, notin wey dem fit do to stop Sawyer from practising.

Injecting dermal fillers na non-surgical procedure and e dey unregulated, e mean say anyone fit do am - and dem no fit stop dem.

In September 2024, Alice Webb wey dem believe to be di first pesin wey die afta she receive liquid BBL in di UK. No be Ricky Sawyer carry out her procedure.

Afta she die, Save Face - one group wey dey campaign for greater regulation to cover non-surgical procedures - call for new law wey go ban anyone oda dan registered surgeons wit di General Medical Council (GMC) to dey carry out liquid BBLs.

Save Face founder, Ashton Collins, say her organisation don receive complaints from 39 women about Ricky Sawyer.

All di women, she say, dem tell am say dem need urgent hospital treatment afta di procedure.

Each of dem, she say, dem do BBL and suffer complications such as sepsis, necrosis and disfigurement.

"We don encourage dis women to report dia experiences to di police," she tok. "Some don report, and dem neva do any tin."

So far, di most effective action wey local authorities don take, na three from Glasgow City Council, Epping Forest District Council and Brentwood Council - confam be say dem issue prohibition notice under Health and Safety law to protect di public from serious injury.

But "e just move on to anoda area for di kontri and carry on", Collins tok.

We put our evidence to di Department of Health and Social Care dem tok say dem dey "urgently look at options for tougher regulation".

Dem tok say our findings dey "shocking" and pipo wey dem catch wey dey give "medication without licence go feel di full force of di law".

We attempt to put our allegations to Ricky Sawyer in person, by confronting am for im east London clinic.

As soon as e see di camera e try to close di door, bifor e go hide for di back of door.

We ask am if e dey break di law by handing out prescription-only medicine, and if e get anytin to tell di women wey tok say dem leave here wit serious injuries, dat need emergency care.

"No," e tok - and tell us make we comot.

Di dangers of unregulated cosmetic surgery should be taken far more seriously, Ashton Collins tok.

"Di general vibe be say dis na silly women wey make silly choices, and dis na dia own fault."

Na attitude wey need to change, she add: "Pipo dey are out dia dey take risk wit pipo lives, and dem fit do am witout no punishment."