Canterbury student demands stricter spiking prevention in nightclubs

A student has criticised a nightclub for not searching customers for drugs, after waking up in hospital following a suspected drink spiking.

Zoe Hamer, 21, was at Club Chemistry in Canterbury, Kent, on the night of 5 October when she collapsed and foamed at the mouth.

Kent Police said it is investigating.

Club Chemistry said it takes reports like this "incredibly seriously" and customers are searched on entry.

A petition calling for compulsory searches at nightclubs has been signed by more than 100,000 people after a number of reported spikings by needle, and campaign groups have called for boycotts of clubs across the UK.

Ms Hamer said that she and her friends were not searched during their night out and she wants to see lids provided with all drinks at every club to limit this happening to others.

Ms Hamer, from Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, was discharged from hospital the following day and missed four days of lectures at Canterbury Christchurch University while she recovered.

She said: "All I remember is waking up in hospital. I dread to think what would have happened if I didn't have my friends around me."

"I've never been blackout drunk in my life and I don't think I would have been in the state I was in if I'd just been drinking, with my jaw moving side to side and my eyes flickering back."

Matthew Jones-Roberts, who owns Club Chemistry, said: "We've got over 40 cameras and we go through a searching procedure when people arrive.

"We intermittently have a drug detection dog which means we can find out if people have been near drugs let alone if they've got them. Any report of anything like this we take incredibly seriously and our main focus is against the perpetrators."

Mr Jones-Roberts said that CCTV footage has been passed to Kent Police.

He added that the club uses straws with caps and drink spiking detection tests, which customers can dip into their drinks if they think they have been tampered with.

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) told the BBC it had seen an increase in reports of drink spiking incidents in recent weeks.

CEO of the NTIA Michael Kill said: "Our industry is working very hard to keep its customers and staff safe, and take its responsibility for duty of care extremely seriously."

He added that a number of education and protection schemes were due to roll out across the UK in conjunction with the Home Office's Women's Safety at Night Fund.

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