Woman recovers in hospital as drink spiking cases double in Scotland

A woman is recovering after plunging from a window and fracturing her skull after a night out in Glasgow.

Alix Taylor's family believe her drink was spiked in a club last Tuesday and say she had terrifying hallucinations in her flat, before she dropped from the window ledge.

They say the 20 year old passed a normal drugs screening but was not tested for date rape drugs.

It comes as new figures show the number of drink spiking incidents reported to police in Scotland more than doubled to 23 cases last year.

There were 10 reported cases in Scotland in 2015, this jumped to 23 in 2017.

Her sister Ellie Taylor posted on Facebook: "Would like to share the absolute nightmare that my sister has been through this week, as a warning to everyone going out drinking- especially around freshers week.

"Alix went to a student aimed night at a club in Glasgow with her friends on Tuesday night, when one of the boys in her group became violently sick and appeared to have been spiked.

"As this was happening, my sister left the club visibly drunk and crying as a guy who had bought her a drink was being extremely creepy/aggressive towards her. (This is already strange behaviour for Alix- she is neither a lightweight or a sensitive, weepy drunk).

"Alix didn't remember getting home, but her flat mate comforted her and put her to bed, where it looked like she was falling asleep.

"Fast forward about an hour, and two passer-bys had heard a woman's frantic screams for help. They rushed round to see Alix completely naked balancing outside on her window sill.

"She was completely terrified of whatever was inside the window, and she clearly felt that the first floor window was her only escape. The passers by assumed it was a sex attack she was trying to escape from, and rang emergency services while trying to climb up to help her.

"Unfortunately, whatever was inside was too much and Alix either jumped or fell from the window and landed head first on the concrete, fracturing her skull and causing major bleeding inside her head- blood was coming out her ears.

"The passers by say they will never forget the sound her head made when she hit. Police broke down the flat door to get to whoever was inside but there was no one, or nothing. All her flat mates had been sleeping and were able to confirm she had came in alone, and her room was tidy.

"Before she jumped, Alix had pulled things out from under her bed and her room was ransacked, with cusions all over the floor. On a recent holiday, Alix and my mum had to do this before bed as scorpions kept appearing in the hotel room.

"Therefore, we have pieced together that Alix was hallucinating, possibly thinking her room was full of bugs. Alix can't remember anything after leaving the club. Due to the fact another in the group was spiked- and how suddenly intoxicated she was, her strange behaviour (being upset), and what happened to her back at home we completely believed her drink had been spiked.

"Her symptoms match those of a reaction to date rape, that could of been put into her drink. She passed a normal drug test, but the hospital don't test for GHB unless it's a sex attack."

We are sharing this story to urge you to be so so careful with your drinks in clubs, and not only that, if you suspect someone in your group may have been spiked, sleep in the same room as them and don't leave them! Alix has been out of critical care for several days and is in a normal ward for now-she's expected to make a full recovery. She has been extremely lucky, we could easily be planning her funeral just now

Former Home Office toxicologist Jim Campbell developed Drink Detective kits.

He said he knew of one case where a girl took her own life after she was assaulted when her drink was spiked.

He said while Rohypnol was known as the classic date rape drug, in reality any drug could be used, from GHB right through to LSD.

Mr Campbell thought the figures were "a drop in the ocean" as he said, "people often feel they have no evidence to go to the police".

He said: "Victims feel like they won't be believed. They rack their brains to figure out what happened the night before, but because of the effects of the drugs they can't remember. They need answers."

Mr Campbell said he believes there are deaths related to drinks spiking attack that are not "in the public eye".

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "We got a call about a woman who fell from a first-floor window on Sauchiehall Street at 3.45am last Tuesday.

"We have had no reports of drinks being spiked.

"We would encourage anyone to come forward who has been a victim of crime."