Young women plagued with anxiety as drink spiking reports rise

‘Many women are taking extreme measures in an effort to protect themselves when venturing out,’ a campaigner tells Maya Oppenheim

The Independent recently reported one in nine women in the UK say they’ve had their drink spiked (Getty )

It was 6am when Kate Burrington received a phone call from her daughter telling her she was in hospital after her drink was spiked. In five minutes, she was out of the house en route to Kingston Hospital in South West London.

“I went cold when she rang,” the 53-year-old tells The Independent. “When I arrived at the hospital, Jess was in the toilet still feeling terrible. I carried Jess out. She looked yellow. It was awful to see.”

Both Kate and Jess, her 18-year-old daughter, were left deeply shaken by the incident earlier this month. Kate is worried about her daughter going out at all and Jess is petrified of being spiked again, saying the experience totally changed her view of socialising.