Nightclubs facing national boycott after students ‘spiked with needles’

A national boycott of clubs has been called as it’s claimed not enough is being done to tackle drink spiking (Picture: Getty)

Students are planning to boycott clubs as part of calls for more to be done to tackle the ‘epidemic’ in spiking.

‘Girls night in’ groups in cities across the UK have been formed amid a worrying surge in the number of incidents.

Students are being urged to stay in because too many no longer feel comfortable in clubs that, they say, ‘aren’t doing enough’ to keep women safe.

There has been an anecdotal increase in people being spiked since the beginning of the new university term in September.

Boycotts have been announced across the UK

Several women in different UK cities have also reported being spiked by people who are injecting them with needles.

Police are investigating incidents at two Nottingham nightclubs over the weekend and there have also been reports of needle spiking in Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee and Glasgow.

Girls Night In Edinburgh were the first to call for a boycott in clubs on October 28. An Instagram account in support of the idea has quickly gained 5,000 followers.

People are being urged to host flat parties or gatherings in safe environments instead of going out.

There has been an increase in the number of people reporting being spiked while out clubbing (Picture: Getty Images Europe)

In calling a boycott, the group said it hopes to show ‘we deserve to have fun on our nights out. It’s not fair that our club experiences are being tainted by the fear, worry and anxiety that we’re going to be drugged.’

The Instagram account features several anonymous stories of women’s experiences with spiking.

One who suspects she was spiked at a bar said: ‘I have no memory from the rest of the night but as far as I am aware I got taken outside by my boyfriend where I was then collapsed and fell unconscious.

‘I was unconscious for a while then started being violently sick and was in a horrible state, however luckily he managed to get me home safely.’

Clubbers will stay away as they no longer feel safe (Picture: Getty Images)

Another said: ‘Last week my friend got injected with a needle…and ended up throwing up blood and spending the night in hospital.’

Others complained of waking up ‘with horrendous leg pain’ and feeling so dizzy and nauseous that they couldn’t move or talk.

Similar boycotts have been called in Leeds, Swansea, Stirling, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Bristol, Brighton, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Belfast, Southampton, Durham and Exeter.

A petition calling for it to be made a legal requirement for nightclubs to thoroughly search guests on entry has quickly gained more than 120,000 signatures.

MORE : Young girls wearing thicker clothes to avoid being spiked with needles

MORE : My drink was spiked and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it

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