A WOMAN who was spiked while on a night out in Basingstoke has spoken out about her ordeal in a bid to get venues and police to take action - and to raise awareness of the crime. 

Laura Williams went out on Saturday, November 16 to celebrate her 31st birthday, with her best friend Chloe and her sister Jade. The group visited Labyrinth nightclub in Winchester Street. 

Laura, a mother-of-two, said: “It was my best mate and sister who realised I got spiked, I can’t remember anything from the night.”

The last thing Laura remembers is going to sit down, before falling on the floor unconscious. 
Another separate report of spiking at the club has also been reported - with police saying 11 incidents have been reported across Basingstoke since April.  

A spokesman said: “We take all reports of drink spiking and needle spiking extremely seriously.”

READ MORE: Multiple spiking incidents at new night club sparks police investigation

A staff member from the club took Laura's blood pressure and pulse, however, Laura said staff didn't recognise that she had been spiked, and instead thought she had had too much to drink.

She continued: "No one at the club recognised what happened to me.

"When I woke up on Sunday, I was at home in bed, I got up to deal with my son and I kept passing out on my partner."

After going back to bed, Laura explained that she tried to get up and then 'realised what was going on' as she had 'never been like that' when she had been drinking. 

Reading another post on Facebook, written by another clubgoer who reported having been spiked in the same nightclub on the same night as Laura, made her sure that she had been a victim of spiking.

Laura said she felt lucky to have people around her who she knew and trusted, adding, "If I didn't, it could have been different.

"I don't know what could have happened to me. It is scary."

Since the incident, Laura hasn't been to town as she wouldn't feel comfortable knowing it could happen again.

She continued: "I don't even feel comfortable going into a pub at the moment. The same thing that happened during nighttime could happen to me during the day, you just don't know."

Now, Laura says she is sharing her story to encourage more people to speak out about the crime.

"I reckon the more people know about it, the stronger they will feel to come forward.

That’s why I’ve come forward to speak out, other people can recognise it and help each other out." she added.

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The Basingstoke resident, who has a three-year-old and a nine-month-old son, says that clubs should do more to prevent spiked visitors.

"They have an obligation to look after people, they should be trained in it [recognising spiking].

"Staff should be able to realise what's people being drunk, and what's not people being drunk, what's spiking," she added.

The Labour government announced on Monday, November 25, that tougher measures would be in place to prevent the crime, including training for venue staff and making spiking a separate criminal offence.

Laura has called the measures a 'step in the right direction' but has added that staff should already have been trained as part of first aid courses.

"It shouldn’t come to that, it shouldn’t happen," she concluded.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: "We can confirm that on 19 November, we received a report that a woman in her 30s had her drink spiked at around 10.30pm on Saturday 16 November in Labyrinth nightclub on Winchester Street (44240504673)."

The Gazette has contacted Labyrinth for comment.