The report of a woman dying in hospital after having a cardiac arrest when she was spiked by a needle in a nightclub is false, police have confirmed.
There has been a surge in women coming forward to share stories of their drinks being drugged and their arms stuck with needles while on nights out across the UK.
While the national conversation on the terrifying new crime has helped cops and venues institute new measures to protect clubbers, there have also been instances of false reporting and misinformation.
One account of spiking shared widely on social media involved a terrifying story of a woman dying in hospital from a cardiac arrest after being injected at nightclub in Hove last week.
The report - which horrified Brits on publication - was in fact false, Sussex Police have now confirmed.
On Thursday the story was posted by Twitter account @Imjustbrighton_ - which claims to be "Sussex's official media outlet".
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They fabricated a tale of three young women being injected while enjoying a night out at the seaside town.
The three girls had heart attacks and paramedics treated them with chest compressions, it falsely claimed.
According to the bogus story, two of the women were revived and all three were taken to hospital. But one of the girls was said to have died after a short time in hospital.
The Metro newspaper contacted @imjustbrighton to ask about the the false reportage, and claim the post was taken down shortly after.
But The Mirror has seen the posts still available to view on the Twitter page on Saturday evening.
The post was widely shared on Twitter and liked by almost 7,400 users.
The source of the story claims to be someone who "works for the ambulance service" and said heir colleague told them about the incident happening in Hove.
But it's currently unknown how the story made its way onto the @Imjustbrighton page.
A spokesperson for Sussex Police told Metro: "Police have not received any reports of any deaths related to spiking, nor of women being taken to hospital as a result of being spiked in Hove over the weekend (Friday, October 22, to Sunday, October 24).
"We are aware of a post being shared around social media repeating a similar claim and we can confirm we have had no reports to suggest it is factual.
"We take any reports of spiking seriously and recently outlined the force’s approach to keeping people safe in the night-time economy."
The spiking surge has been widely discussed and analysed on social media since women started coming forward about their experiences of the shocking crime at the start in October.
The Sunday Mirror recently reported that a drug feared central in the would-be spiker's arsenal can be bought and delivered to someone's front door for less than £10.
The substance in the tablets was withheld due to fears of them being sought out, but they are on sale for just £9 .
The drug is unlicensed in the UK but is used as prescribed medication in India and Japan. When it is mixed with alcohol, users can experience disorientating effects about 30 minutes later and these can last for up to six hours.
The surge in cases has lead to a national conversation about the new horrifying crime and inspired young people to boycott nightclubs in several university towns and large cities.
John Mooney, a Public Health consultant, told Metro that spiking cases are ‘extremely unusual’ and not very common in the UK.
Alcohol is the drug most often used to spike drinks, he adds.
He said: ‘There has been a great deal of coverage of incidents of spiking by injection.
‘Generally speaking, most people will feel the pain of a needle, even if under the influence of alcohol or other substances.
‘Injecting someone with enough drugs to incapacitate them would likely take between 15-20 seconds, long enough for an individual to realise what is happening.’
He also urged Brits to be wary of believing reports - currently circulating on social media - of HIV and Hepatitis contraction from being stuck with a needle.
