A young woman was rushed to hospital after being spiked in a popular nightclub as a terrifying rise in cases continues.
The 18 year old raised the alarm after she started feeling tenderness and numbness in her arm and noticed a pin prick injury.
The assault, which happened in the early hours of the morning at Pryzm in Portsmouth, Hants, comes as a needle spiking epidemic sweeps the country.
A rising number of cases of nightclub-goers being allegedly drugged has led to campaign group 'Girls Night In' launching a boycott of venues across the UK this week.
Police from Hampshire Constabulary dashed to Pryzm in Portsmouth at 2.11am after the young woman reported feeling unwell.
She was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth 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."
Hampshire Constabulary is still investigating the spiking.
Days ago Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered an update from police on the spiking epidemic.
Protesters from campaign Girls Night In have organised a string of nightclub and event boycotts this week.
A spokesperson from the group said: "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."
Before the Pryzm incident, Hampshire Constabulary said there had been 18 incidents of drink spiking in Portsmouth reported to them since July.
DrugWise director Harry Shapiro said at the weekend people should keep an open mind on injection fears. “It would be wrong to say this is impossible,” he added, “but for the drugs to take effect they’d need to be injected in a vein.
“This doesn’t sound plausible. I’m not suggesting that someone hasn’t had a dig at them with a needle or a sharp object but if you were injecting drugs it wouldn’t just be a prick on the arm.”
