Third woman comes forward after fears her drink was spiked on same weekend as two others in Northampton

A third woman has reported that she had her drink spiked during the same weekend two other women feared their drinks were spiked in Northampton town centre.All three incidents took place from Friday, September 4 to Saturday, September 5 in close proximity to one another. Two women collapsed in popular venue, NB's, in Bridge Street on Friday night after suspecting their drinks were spiked and were both taken to Northampton General Hospital. Police are currently treating both incidents in NB's as linked.

Another report has since been made to police yesterday (September 9) a further drink-spiking incident that is feared to have taken place on Saturday evening (September 4) at Turtle Bay in Gold Street. The victim, a woman, was also taken to hospital after collapsing.

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said: "All the victims attended hospital due to the symptoms of collapse they experienced, but have since been discharged. Officers are working to establish how they came by the affected drinks, as well as the substance or substances involved and who may have administered them.

"The Force is reminding people that to spike someone’s drink is a crime and sharing advice to always keep an eye on your drinks, to not accept or pick up drinks that you have not seen being prepared yourself, and to look out for friends, seeking help immediately if they show signs of becoming intoxicated or incapacitated very quickly."

Northamptonshire Police's 'Operation Kayak', which places plain clothes officers out into public spaces during the night-time economy, continues to operate town centre patrols with officers on the look out for any predatory behaviour.

Director of intelligence, Detective Superintendent Emma James, said: “Any reports of this nature are taken very seriously, as drink spiking can lead to serious harm.

“Drink spiking is illegal and the penalties are serious. Anyone caught doing this, either to friends as a supposed prank, or to strangers, can expect to be robustly dealt with.

“I’d also like to remind people to stick with friends and always look after their drinks while they are out. Don’t leave drinks unattended, don’t take them from strangers or pick up drinks at random because you have no way of knowing what’s in them.

“If you think you may have had a drink spiked, please always seek medical help and report it to the police as soon as possible. If you have concerns on a night out, always report them to venue staff, street pastors or directly to our officers.”

She added her thanks for the co-operation and proactive attitude of both venues involved in these incidents.

Anyone with information about any of the incidents above is asked to call Northamptonshire Police regarding incident number 21000513253 (at NB’s) and 21000524295 (Turtle Bay).

For advice on how to protect yourself and others from spiked drinks and date rape drugs, visit: https://www.northants.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/protect-yourself-from-crime/spiked-drinks-date-rape-drugs/Report non-emergency crime by calling 101, or go online at www.northants.police.uk/RO. In an emergency, always call 999.