POLICE are trawling through hours of CCTV footage after a dozen incidents of drink spiking were reported following nights out in Colchester town centre.

Essex Police said 12 separate reports of drinks being spiked in Colchester had been received across an eight-week period.

Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, Colchester’s district commander, said each case had been linked and assigned to a specific officer to investigate.

“Under one officer we can look between the commonalities of the places people have visited, the groups they were in, all our premises that we’re working with have great CCTV,” he said.

“So it’s about trawling through hours of CCTV and looking at all the people that were round that group and slowly narrowing it down.

“I’ll admit that’s really difficult – it’s hundreds of hours of work of dark, grainy CCTV at night where lots of people look very similar.

“If we do find somebody we will prosecute.”

He added: “If you narrow it down four of these reported spikings were one incident.

“It does appear someone randomly went around spiking people’s drinks.

“Not only did we combine all of those investigations under one officer so we can identify patterns and trends, we’ve got a really strong partnership here in Colchester.”

Mr Huddleston said the police are working with Colchester Council, which in turn has been engaging with the town’s bars and pubs to ensure punters are well aware of the dangers.

Each premises linked with reports of spiking has received visits from the council’s licensing team, ensuring staffing levels are high enough and precautions are being taken.

“All of our licensees have really engaged with us over it, they’re as keen to protect people coming into their establishments as we are,” said Mr Huddleston.

“People will see a lot more posters up about drink spiking, I think some places are considering buying lids for glasses.

“We’ve got a really strong Pubwatch group up here.

“We’re really keen to ensure we support our nighttime economy, we understand the impact Covid has had on all of our businesses in Colchester and the community.

“This is not about blaming the nightclubs because what are the odds of identifying an individual doing this while they’re doing it? But they are trying their best to do this.

“A number of venues have started searching people before they come in.”

Mr Huddleston said his teams had also worked with Colchester Hospital to make staff aware of the ongoing investigation.

He said: “We’ve linked in with our health trust to push the message out, if we get people presenting with these symptoms, take their bloods and take their urine and store it, so if needed it can be tested.”

The Gazette first reported on cases of drink spiking in the town centre after horrified mum Emma Benjamin reported her daughter had been drugged while on a night out.

Read more: 

The 39-year-old, of Shrub End, Colchester, received a call at about 11.55pm on Thursday, September 2.

She was told her 18-year-old daughter, Shania, had collapsed while out clubbing in a town centre bar with some of her close friends.

She said: “By the time she was actually seen she had passed out a few more times and then the doctors just put it down to her being too drunk.

“But I did not agree with that, because her friends said they watched her change in seconds and they have never seen anything like it.”

Mr Huddleston also called on drinkers to look out for their friends and “take on some responsibility”, an appeal echoed by Essex Police’s assistant chief constable Rachel Nolan.

She said: “I know many people are eager to get out to pubs and clubs to see friends and family after more than a year of having coronavirus restrictions in place but I would urge them to ensure staying safe and getting home safely are their top priorities.

“There are number of things you can do to reduce the risk of having your drink spiked such as never taking a drink that you haven’t seen being prepared in front of you, never leaving your drink unattended, even for a moment, and if it doesn’t taste right, don’t finish it.

“If you or your friends start to feel unwell, please seek medical help immediately or if you see one of our officers, please alert them.

“Above all, please look out for one another.”