A young woman has today told of the ‘terrifying’ moment her vision began fading after allegedly being spiked with a needle on her first ever night out in a nightclub.
Charlotte Evans, 18, was on a Halloween night out with friends when suddenly she lost all feeling in her face and her arm felt ‘sore’.
The teenager, who was drinking with friends in Trilogy nightclub in Southampton, Hants, managed to get home safely.
However the next day Ms Evans, who works as a Wetherspoon’s bartender, lost her vision during her shift and couldn’t stand up.
Today, four days on from her Halloween night out, Miss Evans is still feeling dizzy. She also has a pin prick-type mark on the inside of her forearm.
Miss Evan’s account is latest in a string of reports of women being spiked with needles it nightclubs, following claims of injection spiking in Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
Miss Evans, who had never been to a club before Sunday, said: ‘Right now, I am not going to go clubbing again – I’m terrified.
Charlotte Evans, 18, was on a Halloween night out with friends when suddenly she lost all feeling in her face and her arm felt ‘sore’
Four days on from her Halloween night out, Miss Evans is still feeling dizzy. She also has a pin prick-type mark on the inside of her forearm (pictured)
‘We were having a good time. I didn’t really have a lot to drink. Half way through the night at about 12am, my face felt numb and then my left arm was really sore. But I didn’t think anything of it. I had not drunk a lot at all.
‘All my friends were saying “you really did not drink a lot” but I still felt drunk the next morning.
‘I didn’t feel anything; I didn’t feel the needle go in. I was never by myself, I was near my friends and I would never put myself in that kind of danger.’
Despite Miss Evans being with friends the entire time, she thinks she was pricked by a needle and can see a mark on her arm.
She continued: ‘Half way through my shift the next day, I really did not feel well. I could not see, I could not stand straight.
‘I’m was waiting outside for my roommate to come and pick me up and I couldn’t stand up at all. I was full-on sitting on the floor. I just couldn’t see what I was doing and I was just really dizzy.
‘Eventually, I was literally laying on the floor. I went to A&E but after two or three hours of waiting I went home and reported it to the police.
Despite Miss Evans being with friends the entire time, she thinks she was pricked by a needle and can see a mark on her arm
Ms Evan’s account is latest in a string of reports of women being spiked with needles it nightclubs, following claims of injection spiking in Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester
‘There was a dodgy guy next to me [at the nightclub] and they think it could be him – the police have hours of CCTV to look through.
‘We were near him but then I tapped my friend on the shoulder and we all moved out the way. Apparently, another girl was spiked there and another was assaulted.’
Miss Evans thinks nightclubs have a responsibility to check ravers’ bags and pockets instead of the onus being on women and girls to wear thick clothing.
She said: ‘I think it’s absolutely disgusting – another girl was spiked in her stomach. How the hell are we meant to protect ourselves?
‘My advice to other girls would be never be by yourself, stick with friends.. Stay clear from everyone and if you think someone is acting suspicious tell the bouncers.
‘In general, I would like all clubs to do bag checks because this very easily could have been avoided.’
Police have confirmed an investigation is now underway.
A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We received a report at 1.29pm on Tuesday November 2 that an 18-year-old woman had been spiked with a needle at Trilogy night club on London Road, Southampton on Sunday 31 October.
‘This incident is currently under investigation and enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances.
‘We would like to reassure people that we are taking these crimes seriously. They can have devastating consequences and result in serious criminal charges.’
Ms Evans’ account comes as four women claimed they were ‘spiked’ by injection and hospitalised whilst on separate nights out over the Halloween weekend.
Amy-Jayne Cramb dressed up as Buzz Lightyear for a night out with her friends in Newcastle city centre on Saturday evening.
But the 23-year-old claims she ‘noticed a group of men acting strangely’ as she and her pals danced in the popular club, Jalou.
Ms Camb, who works as a health improvement practitioner, instantly went to the toilet and squeezed the wound (Pictured) before wrapping it in a hospital and going to the hospital
The 23-year-old claims she ‘noticed a group of men acting strangely’ as she and her pals danced in the popular club, Jalou
Ms Beckwith (Pictured) shows her black eye, as a referral from doctors at Sunderland Royal Hospital ran tests and found that she had suffered a bump to the head, a fractured rib, bruising down her shoulder and a black eye.
Teenager, Mia Robertson, 18, from Grimsby (Pictured Left) needed CPR and Maria Beckwith, 42, (Right) was left with a ‘fractured rib’ and ‘severe concussion’ after their drinks were reportedly spiked on separate nights out
Minutes later Ms Cramb said she spotted blood on her costume and ‘realised she had a needle prick on her hand.’
Scotland Yard will deploy undercover Met officers outside bars and clubs in a bid to identify predators and ‘reduce violence against women and girls’
Scotland Yard will deploy undercover police officers outside bars and clubs in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls, it has been revealed.
The Metropolitan Police unveiled the move on Wednesday as part of a wider action plan, stressing the plain-clothes officers will operate in pairs and will not go inside the venues.
It comes after Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick announced last month that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman.
Concerns were raised after serving officer Wayne Couzens staged a fake arrest to kidnap, rape and murder marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, while she was walking home in Clapham, south-west London.
Advice from the force for women who feel unsure about someone claiming to be a police officer to flag down a passing bus or run into someone’s house was heavily criticised.
On Wednesday, Dame Cressida, 61, met with community groups from Lambeth and Southwark to discuss the force’s plans to tackle violence against women and girls, boost the number of criminals brought to justice and also tackle sexual misconduct and domestic violence by its own officers and staff.
Scotland Yard will deploy undercover police officers outside clubs in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls. Pictured: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick
As part of the plan, the Met will pilot a scheme in the two boroughs where teams of plain-clothed and uniformed officers will be deployed together to identify predators near pubs, bars and clubs.
The idea is the undercover officers identify ‘anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviour’ in public spaces and ask uniformed colleagues to step in when needed.
Force chiefs have already deployed 650 officers into new town centre teams while patrols in open spaces and at transport hubs have been increased.
Dame Cressida said: ‘This plan details how we will do more and better to keep women and girls safe.
‘It brings together all of our work to prevent male violence against women and girls, in public spaces as well as domestic settings and online; to target perpetrators, and with the wider criminal justice service, to improve outcomes for victims.
‘We will increase officers’ skills and maximise the impact of key units such as our predatory offender units, town centre teams, and other specialist units, and further improve digital investigation, intelligence and the quality of case files.’
Elsewhere, Mia Robertson, 18, from Grimsby in Lincolnshire, needed urgent CPR after allegedly having her drink spiked in a club.
In Sheffield on Saturday, three teenagers aged 18 and 19, were on separate nights out when they were reportedly ‘injected’ with syringes in nightclubs and rushed to hospital by ambulance.
Two of the women have since been discharged while the third remains in a ‘stable condition’ in hospital.
South Yorkshire police said: ‘While we are not ruling anything out, the evidence so far does not suggest that these crimes have a sexual motivation.’
Police said the first incident was reported at 2am on Sunday morning, at a venue on Eyre Street where an 18-year-old was injected with a suspected syringe.
The next took place at 4am in the same location, when a 19-year-old woman was injected with a possible needle.
The same night, officers responded to reports of another 18-year-old woman falling ill in a spiking incident on Carver Street.
Ms Cramb, who works as a health improvement practitioner, said she went straight to the toilet where she squeezed and washed the wound to draw out the substance before putting a plaster on it and going to hospital.
She filed a police report and is currently waiting the results of her blood tests.
She is now appealing for others in Jalou that night who believe they may have been spiked to come forward.
Following the incidents, detective chief inspector Benjamin Wood told those responsible that their actions were ‘not a joke’.
He said: ‘Consider the results of your careless and cruel actions: you are endangering the lives of innocent people who just want to go out and have fun with their friends.
‘You are putting them at risk of serious illness, injury or assault.’
Meanwhile teenager Mia Robertson, 18, needed CPR and a mother-of-two, Maria Beckwith, 42, woke up in the street with a black eye and ‘fractured ribs’ after they were ‘spiked’ on separate nights out
Mia Robertson, 18, from Grimsby in Lincolnshire, needed urgent CPR after having her drink ‘spiked’ during a night out with her friends on Saturday night.
After entering a venue and having a drink, the teenager and her friends made their way to the smoking area.
She began to feel uneasy and fell into unconsciousness. Her friends struggled to find a pulse as they called paramedics.
The teen had to be resuscitated and spent a day at Diana Princess of Wales hospital in Grimsby recovering.
Mia said: ‘I went to a party on Saturday night and my friends said we were off out in Cleethorpes, which is something I wasn’t expecting.
‘We entered a club and got a drink then headed to the smoking area. Whilst I was stood there, my legs began to go numb and one of my friends had to support me.
‘Apparently I was laid unconscious on the floor and they couldn’t find my pulse so called an ambulance. I was given CPR then rushed to Diana Princess of Wales hospital.
‘I was put on a drip and oxygen and woke up the next morning.’
The teen was asked if she had ‘used cocaine’ by a nurse, but she explained that she’d ‘never used drugs’ in her life.
She added: ‘I laid there feeling really numb, everything ached, but at the same time I felt like my body wasn’t there.’
Another incident of needle spiking was also reported in Bury at the Flex nightclub on the night of October 30, going into 31.
Elsewhere, Maria Beckwith, 42, from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, is another alleged spiking victim, who went for drinks with a friend after they’d finished work on October 2 and attended the bar Hoochie Coochie in the city centre.
A crowd of people gathered in Manchester to protest in a bid to urge venues to do more to protect customers from having their drink spiked as part of a nationwide movement known as Girls Night In which has seen thousands boycott bars and clubs
The mother-of-two showed her bruised arm (Pictured) and said ‘it was more than just a silly fall and it appears without doubt, my drink was indeed spiked’
This comes as spiking drinks in the UK is on the rise, Ms Beckwith (Pictured) shows off the painful bump on her head, which she cannot recall
The Mercedes Benz sales worker was enjoying her night and ‘dancing’ with her friend, when just hours later, she was in a different part of Newcastle, without any recollection of how she got there.
Piecing the night together, with the help of her friends, the mother- of-two said she must have got off at St James’ Metro station but blacked out and woke up ‘collapsed in a pile’ on the street with ‘fractured ribs’ and a ‘severe concussion’.
Writing about the terrifying ordeal on social media, she said: ‘After spending the last few days trying to piece it all together (I still have zero memory) it appears it was more than just a silly fall and it appears without doubt, my drink was indeed spiked.
‘From chatting to my work mate and having a dance feeling great, to 30 minutes later being on a pile on the ground after collapsing. To somehow ending up in a different part of Newcastle with a man taking money from my purse.
‘I still don’t know what happened between my collapse and that point but in that short window of time I’ve suffered a severe concussion, fractured ribs, swollen eye socket, bruised and swollen arm and shoulder and a huge amount of relief it was not any worse.’
Thankfully, a phone call to a friend describing her location meant that she was picked up by them in a taxi and taken home.
But, the next day, the mother-of-two woke up in severe pain and realised she needed hospital treatment.
Doctors at Sunderland Royal Hospital ran tests and found that she had suffered a bump to the head, a fractured rib, bruising down her shoulder and a black eye.
But Ms Beckwith says it was too late for medics to run tests to find out if she had been spiked.
The mother-of-two has spent the last four weeks recovering at home but says she still suffers from constant headaches and dizziness.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: ‘We can confirm that we have received a report from a woman concerned she had been spiked while on a night out in Newcastle on Saturday, October 2.
‘We have identified a number of lines of inquiry and an investigation remains ongoing at this time.’
They added: ‘We also work with our partners and licensees to help ensure the city remains one of the safest to enjoy a night out.
‘We would encourage anyone who has concerns or believes they have been a victim of spiking, to get in touch with us.
‘As a force, we will investigate every report we receive and are committed to working with and supporting victims.’
There has been a huge rise in the number of spiking cases in recent weeks.
In response nightclubs and bars have been boycotted and demonstrations have taken place at more than 40 university towns and cities across the UK.
Spiking injections, or needle spiking, happens when an unsuspecting person is injected with drugs using a needle.
There have been nearly 200 reports of drink spiking across the UK in September and October, as detectives investigate claims of seven women being injected while out in Brighton in one week as a man is arrested on suspicion of ‘administering a noxious substance’.
Seven women say they have been injected on nights out in two Sussex resorts in just seven days. Six revellers told police they were injected while out in Brighton city centre with another woman saying she was spiked during a night out in Eastbourne.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said there have been 198 reports of spiking in September and October across various parts of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus 24 reports of some form of injection.
Last week, women across the UK took a stand and boycotted bars and nightclubs on October 27 to demand venues to do more to protect revellers from spiking.
The ‘Girls Night In’ movement is taking place in several cities for the next two weeks amid reports that young women were being spiked at nightclubsamid reports that young women were being spiked at nightclubs. Pryzm on the seafront in Brighton and in Nottingham showed its support for students by calling off its weekly Wednesday clubnight.
It comes as a student, 22, revealed he was robbed on a night out after being targeted at Popworld in Derby and a man, 29, was charged by Manchester Police with spiking and raping a woman in a bar.
On Monday, police investigating the needle and drink spiking incidents in Sussex said they had arrested a third man in connection with the attacks.
The 18-year-old from Brighton is one of three men who have now been arrested on suspicion of spiking by injection and in drinks during nights out amid a nationwide spiking ‘epidemic’ that has prompted backlash from students and nightclubs.
A 28-year-old man from Hove was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of administering poison with intent to injure, and a 19-year-old man from Brighton was arrested on Monday morning on suspicion of the same offence.
On Monday, a spokesman for Sussex Police said: ‘An 18-year-old man from Brighton was taken into custody this afternoon as part of the investigation into drink spiking in the city.
‘He was arrested on suspicion of administering poison or noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy and remains in custody at this time.
‘It follows the arrests of two men – a 28-year-old from Hove and a 19-year-old from Brighton – for the same offence. Both of them have been released on bail while inquiries continue.’
Previously a police spokesman said: ‘Police have received a number of recent reports of people becoming unwell during or after nights out, with some finding puncture marks on their body or believing their drink had been tampered with.
‘Officers have increased patrols as part of their continued work policing the night-time economy and have been working closely with partners and licensed premises on initiatives to help keep people safe.
‘These include unannounced licence checks at venues, briefings with security staff prior to opening and targeted, visible patrols around bars, clubs and restaurants every night of the week.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk