When Danielle Hayton went on a night out in February 2022 with her cousin Rebekah, she was looking forward to a few drinks and a dance.
But, as she headed to the club, Danielle became unsteady on her feet and blacked out.
When she came round, she was in hospital.
Danielle, 32, a healthcare assistant from Clitheroe, Lancashire, was a victim of spiking, and the experience has left her scarred.
She says, ‘My memory was completely blank, but Rebekah told me I was staring at a wall for ages, and then I almost fell asleep at the bar. It was so out of character for me, we left immediately. But at home I apparently started having seizures and she called for an ambulance.
'At the hospital, all I could think about was my little boy, Joah, now four. What would have happened to him if he’d been left without his mummy?’
Nurses believed that Danielle had been spiked with an injection needle, and when she spotted a pinprick mark, surrounded by a ring of bruising, it was the confirmation she needed.
She says, ‘The attacker could easily have taken my life. Spiking needs to be taken more seriously.’
Sadly, Danielle’s story isn’t unusual. One in every 10 British women has had their drink spiked, according to a YouGov poll.
Spiking has increased by 108% in the past few years, with more and more predators using needles filled with substances to inject victims.
A spokesperson for The Talk About Trust, formerly The Alcohol Education Trust, said, ‘The drugs used are often tasteless and odourless, so you would have no idea it has happened to you. In extreme cases, people have died.
‘We need to be self-aware and look after each other – but we shouldn’t have to. We are calling for assurances from the nightlife industry, police and A&E medics, that they will take every case seriously.
‘In our recent survey, only 9% of victims made a report. But this can happen to anyone, anywhere.’
Spiking is already illegal, but there was a positive move from the new Labour Government when they announced it was due to become a specific criminal offence under changes, announced in The King’s Speech.
MPs believe this will make it easier for police to respond to reports.
Recently, Love Island star Jessie Wynter revealed how her spiking incident has affected her.
Last summer, she was rushed to hospital after she’d had a drink spiked, and confessed that the incident had changed the way she goes out and enjoys herself.
She said, ‘I want to remind anyone that has been spiked – everyone deserves to go out and have a good time, and it’s never the fault of the person who got their drink spiked.’
EastEnders have also tackled a storyline on the issue. Recently viewers saw Anna Knight (played by Molly Rainford) spiked on a night out.
Since her scenes, Molly has revealed she is constantly thinking about her safety on nights out.
She said, ‘You have to kind of live in that bit of fear that it could happen and it’s a real shame. I’m lucky enough that I haven’t been spiked, but it shouldn’t be luck, it should be standard.’
For Danielle, it’s an experience she says she’s still struggling to get over.
She says, ‘I’m type 1 diabetic, and before I went out that night, I checked my blood sugar levels on a blood-glucose monitor on my stomach.
‘We met up with some mates and headed to a busy pub. I’ve always been conscious of spiking so I made sure to place my hand on top of the glass so nothing would slip in.’
Afterwards, the group decided to go to a club, but that was when Danielle found herself feeling unsteady.
She says, ‘The next thing I knew everything went black and I woke up in hospital. Rebekah told me we’d made it into the nightclub, but almost instantly I’d started behaving strangely. She thought my sugar levels were low, but my monitor had somehow failed.'
After she got me home, I started having violent seizures while screaming in agony.
'My memory was completely blank'
‘Paramedics arrived and took my heart rate. They found that, one moment it would drop to 33 beats per minute – and then the next it would soar to 189.
‘When I came round, my tongue had chunks missing from where I’d bitten down on it during the 11 seizures I’d had.
‘A doctor said he suspected it was a spiking incident. He said the needles used are so thin, I probably wouldn’t have felt it.
‘I couldn’t get my head around the fact that someone would go out of their way to cause me harm.
‘I logged on to Facebook and decided to make a post about the incident as a caution to others. Within hours, I’d received messages from three different women explaining that either they or their friends had experienced the exact same thing that very night.’
Now, two years on, Danielle is still feeling the consequences of that night, and gets very anxious going to new places.
She says, ‘If I do go out, I’m constantly on edge, keeping watch on those around me.
‘There should be more done to protect women through increased stops and searches before entering pubs and clubs.
'I’m just thankful to the NHS for helping me and grateful things didn’t end up worse than they did.’