diff --git a/lib/Cake/Utility/Sanitize.php b/lib/Cake/Utility/Sanitize.php
index 77774a4f5..41cab417a 100644
--- a/lib/Cake/Utility/Sanitize.php
+++ b/lib/Cake/Utility/Sanitize.php
@@ -69,7 +69,10 @@ class Sanitize {
 		if (is_numeric($string) || $string === null || is_bool($string)) {
 			return $string;
 		}
-		$string = substr($db->value($string), 1);
+		$string = $db->value($string, 'string');
+		if ($string[0] === 'N') {
+			$string = substr($string, 2);
+		}
 		$string = substr($string, 0, -1);
 		return $string;
 	}