'Traumatised' girl, 18, speaks out after claiming to be victim of needle spiking at Northampton venue

An 18-year-old University of Northampton student has spoke out about her 'traumatising' experience after claiming to have been spiked with a needle at a town centre venue.

The female student, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she was spiked on Saturday night (November 27) while out with her friend having a catch-up.

The girl says she was at the venue between 10pm and 4am, with her mother both dropping her off and picking her up.

"We got into the venue at 10pm. We had a few drinks, I was a little bit tipsy. But it got to 4am and I thought, 'where has the time gone?', we forgot the whole night. I don't remember a thing between 11pm and 2am," she said.

"My mum picked us up at 4am, on the way home we were a bit scared because we we could only remember an hour of the night. I wasn't speaking to my mum much, which is unusual, I'm normally chatting away on the way home. Mum thought I was more drunk than normal, normally I come home sober - I don't drink much when I'm out.

"Looking back on the night, I became very drunk with little alcohol. Both me and my friend experienced extreme memory loss.

"I put two and two together when I woke up the next day and saw a big red mark on my arm - it was a needle mark.

"I was really scared. We went to A&E and they saw me right away, they took it very seriously.

"I don't know why someone would do this. I don't understand. I was crying about it for three hours last night - what if they have given me something from it? It's traumatising to keep going over it."

According to the girl, doctors confirmed she had two puncture holes caused by a needle stick injury.

The girl continued: "I did everything I could to keep myself safe. I tried my best. I covered my arms with a long sleeve t-shirt, I wore jeans, I took a re-usable anti-spike drink holder.

"Girls are covering their drinks now, so they [spikers] are having to find other way to spike people. This is proof it can still happen no matter what precautions you take. You don't think it will happen to you until it does.

"Drink spiking is bad enough but injection is worse, you can get HIV, Hepatitis and other diseases. It's comparable to walking into a public toilet and shoving it in your arm, you don't know where that needle has been.

"I'm new to Northampton, I was quite excited to try somewhere new but, obviously, I'm terrified of going back out there."

The girl has since published a social media post, which has gone semi-viral, warning people about the dangers of spiking in the town.

She added: "I have never taken drugs in my life. Why would I inject myself in the top of my arm?"

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman said: "This was reported to us at 2pm on Sunday, November 28 and involves an incident the night before when the victim attended hospital after being spiked sometime between 10pm and 4am.

"We are investigating the incident and anyone with information should call us."

Call police on 101 if you have any information regarding drink spiking incidents.