Students who claim to have had their drinks spiked describe their experiences

'I lost my vision, I couldn’t move, I had a serious, erratic heart rate and breathing'

Two students who both claim to have had their drinks spiked during nights out at university have described their disturbing experiences, revealing that they’ve been in contact with numerous people who’ve been through similar ordeals.

The amount of people who have become victims of drink spiking has increased drastically in recent years, with the number of incidents rising by 108 per cent in the past three years.

Alix Taylor, a third-year student at Glasgow Caledonian University and Emily Walter, a first-year student at Falmouth University, both had to receive medical attention following nights out at university.

Having pieced together what occurred in each of their respective cases, Taylor and Walter both feel sure that their drinks were discreetly spiked at some point during their nights.

Speaking with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning, Taylor explained that she’d returned from a club where a man had been acting in a very strange and aggressive manner towards her.

Having returned home in hysterics and been put to bed by her flatmate, she was later spotted by passers-by on the street perched on her windowsill, naked and screaming.

She then fell from the window, which resulted in her fracturing her skull.

Taylor’s sister, Ellie, wrote a post on Facebook outlining what had happened and warning people about the dangers of what can happen when a person’s drink is spiked.

“We have pieced together that Alix was hallucinating, possibly thinking her room was full of bugs. Alix can’t remember anything after leaving the club,” she wrote.

“Her symptoms match those of a reaction to date rape, that could [have] been put into her drink.”

Having been taken to the hospital, Taylor passed a standard drug test. However, according to Taylor, the hospital didn’t test for the drug that's associated with drink spiking.

Walter had been at a freshers event at Falmouth University when she believes her drink was spiked.

Having had two gin and tonics at her flat, Walter then had a drink that had been bought for her at the event, and from then on she doesn’t remember the rest of the night.

Her best friend of 10 years found her in a paralysed, hysterical state, and so made the quick decision to have Walter receive medical attention.

“I lost my vision, I couldn’t move, I had a serious, erratic heart rate and breathing, and I was taken into hospital and that’s where I woke up,” Walter said.

Walter is currently waiting to receive the results of a blood test, and has said that the police have been very helpful throughout the investigation into her case.

Since posting on social media about their experiences, Taylor and Walter have both received messages from lots of people saying that they’ve also had their drinks spiked in the past.

The most commonly known “date-rape” drugs are Rohypnol, otherwise known as “Roofie”, and Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), as explained by Drinkaware.

The alcohol awareness organisation explains that the drugs can be odourless, colourless and tasteless and can leave the body very quickly, which means that they’re often difficult to detect.

The penalty for spiking someone’s drink is a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, medical advisor at Drinkaware, recommends keeping an eye on your drink at all times when drinking in public and refusing alcohol that’s offered by strangers.

Sarah Green, co-director at the End Violence Against Women Coalition, explains that while women may be more likely than men to have their drinks spiked, it shouldn’t be their responsibility to prevent someone from putting a drug in their beverage.