Nightclub to cover drinks with cling film as spiking ‘epidemic’ fears mount

Thousands of students have called for action to deal with a reported rise in spiking cases (Picture: Getty)

A club manager says he’s resorted to covering drinks with a layer of cling film to allay fears over spiking. 

There has been a reported rise in cases at some universities in recent months, with some students boycotting nightclubs altogether.

The Home Office is also urgently looking into reports of a new trend where women are injected with a substance without knowing.

Ben Lewis, who manages the weekly Woo Cambridge event, said the issue ‘wasn’t on our radar last week as much as it is this week’ and more needs to be done at venues across the UK.

He said bar staff would use cling film as a temporary measure while more permanent safeguards for young revelers are found.

Mr Lewis, 24, said: ‘We’re aware that there’s a nationwide problem and people want something done about it… and we wanted to do something before opening tonight.

‘We researched quite a few different measures… but we didn’t think any of them would really work properly.

‘So while it’s not the perfect solution at all, tonight we’ll have cling film, then next week we’ll have proper drink stoppers… for free for customers that want them.

As well as drinks being spikes, police are investigating reports of people being injected with substances (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s a strong cling film and it’s more for people when they’re not drinking to have a little bit of peace of mind.

‘We know it’s not a perfect solution but we simply couldn’t get the official measures in time.’

Campaigners from more than 30 universities who plan to join the nightclub boycott say they are seeking ‘tangible’ changes to address a problem that has become an ‘epidemic’.

Police forces across the UK are investigating more than a dozen ‘terrifying’ incidents of women being injected with a drug. 

The bulk of cases have been in Nottingham where there have been 44 spiking reports since September 4, including 12 with ‘something sharp’ as opposed to contaminated alcoholic drinks.

The first of the 12 was reported on October 2, and one victim suffered an injury which could be consistent with a needle.

Following reports of incidents across the country, home secretary Priti Patel has asked police forces to assess the scale of the problem.

At time of writing, a petition launched last week to make it a legal requirement for nightclubs to thoroughly search guests on entry has already gained almost 160,000 signatures.

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