Woman, 18, taken to QA hospital after being spiked in Pryzm nightclub in Portsmouth

The incident happened at Pryzm in Stanhope Road in the early hours of Friday morning.

Police were called at 2.11am to reports that an 18-year-old woman had been assaulted in the club.

The woman reported feeling tenderness and numbness to her arm, before noticing a small injury consistent with a pin prick.

Officers attended and the woman was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham as a precaution.

Portsmouth Chief Inspector Rob Mitchell said: ‘We are taking these crimes incredibly seriously. They can have devastating consequences and result in serious criminal charges.

‘Anyone who thinks that they have been spiked in a club should report this immediately to both police and venue staff. The quicker we know about it the better.

‘Our licensing teams are speaking to premises about how they safeguard their customers, and all venues have been offered welfare and vulnerability training. We encourage premises to search people on arrival and a number of venues also use wands or arches at their entrances.

‘We continue work with premises so that victims feel safe to report incidents when they happen so that we have the best opportunity to identify offenders.’

The spiking incident is currently under investigation and enquiries are being carried out to determine the exact circumstances.

It comes as university students announced plans to boycott clubs and events in Portsmouth this week.

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The Girls Night In protest is due to take place on Wednesday and aims to raise awareness of spiking and sexual assault in bars and clubs.

Organisers of the boycott told The News: ‘Spiking has become a dangerous epidemic, students are terrified of clubbing since people have reported being injected.

‘Girls Night In is a nationwide campaign organised by young activists from all over the country. Upon learning that cases of spiking have doubled for the past three years, something had to be done.

‘The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness of spiking and sexual assault in nightclubs and bars.’

Police had previously revealed that prior to the incident at Pryzm on Friday there had been 18 incidents of drink spiking in Portsmouth reported to them since July.

If anyone has any information about the incident at Pryzm, Police are asking them to contact them on 101 quoting 44210423993.

Anyone who thinks they have been spiked by injection should report it to the police immediately by calling 101.

You can also get in touch by using the force’s online reporting tool

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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