A NEW discreet drink-spiking test is being targeted at Bournemouth students, after new research revealing the scale of the problem.

A study involving BU students found that four out of five students knew someone who had had their drink spiked and one in four had been a victim themselves.

The research, carried out by Check Your Drink (CYD), a new drink-spiking test, also revealed 95 per cent of students would use a test on their drink if they left it unattended and would feel safer if their university provided the kits.

Eighty five per cent of students said they would test a drink that had been given to them by someone else and nearly 95 per cent of students would test a friend’s drink if they thought they were acting strangely.

CYD is a detection strip that tests for both GHB and Ketamine, the two most widely-used drink-spiking drugs. Produced by friends Katie Burrington and Micahela Williams alongside expert chemist Dr Elizabeth Ellis, it has two testing patches that change colour if either GHB or Ketamine is detected.

Katie said: “Having become aware of the widespread drink-spiking problem, along with its associated criminal activity, I felt compelled to bring a product to the market that could not only make others aware of this problem, but also to offer a tool that will help them avoid being put in this vulnerable position.”

  • Bournemouth-based psychology student Irma Konovalova, 21, had her drink spiked in a bar in her home town of Torquay. She had only had three glasses of wine but was found by her ex-boyfriend alone and wandering the streets, with no idea how to get home.

She said: “Looking back, the whole experience is really frightening. I had no reason to think that the men talking to me were being anything other than friendly, although perhaps a little over-confident. They were well dressed and well spoken and rang no alarm bells at all.

“When I stepped outside to go home, I immediately felt strange and knew something was wrong but had no idea what.

“I didn’t feel afraid as I didn’t really know what was happening but now I realise that I was in an incredibly vulnerable situation.

“If my ex-boyfriend hadn’t happened to come along when he did, I don’t know what would have happened to me, I might not even be here now.

“I have never been a big drinker and I drink even less now; the possibility that my drink could get spiked is at the forefront of my mind and it is something that I will never forget.”