Needle spiking incident alleged at St Albans nightclub

A woman who claimed she was pricked in the arm as she left a St Albans nightclub was not the victim of needle-spiking, police have confirmed.

The victim said she was on her way out of the city centre nightspot Club Veeda on Saturday night when she felt a sharp pain in her elbow.

She did not become unwell and went home safely with friends and family, but woke up the next morning to find her arm sore, bruised and swollen.

Following an extensive investigation into the inident, detectives are now satisfied that no criminal offence took place on this occasion.

Det Sgt Paul Wadsworth, from the St Albans Local Crime Unit, said: “We have spoken at length with the woman, carried out extensive enquiries and are now satisfied there is no evidence to suggest she was the victim of needle-spiking.

“Both the blood tests and CCTV from the evening did not present anything untoward, and we have since spoken with the woman at length to update her on our findings.

“I’d like to publicly praise her actions as she did absolutely the right thing by making her way home with the support of her friends, attending hospital and requesting a blood test as well as reporting it to us so we could investigate.

“There has been widespread media coverage about needle-spiking incidents and we can understand the concern this has caused in our communities, and why this young woman believed she may have been a victim.

“Everyone has the right to enjoy a safe night out and we are working in collaboration with venues across the county to ensure staff and visitors know the correct process to follow if they believe a needle-spiking incident has occurred.”