A BRAVE Southampton woman has spoken out about the horrifying moment she was spiked and hospitalised at a closed student event.

Emily Seymour-Dale thought her safety was guaranteed when she attended a ticketed event at Revolutions in Bedford Place.

But her short time at the bar soon turned into a nightmare.

The 20-year-old University of Southampton student had planned to attend a ticketed event open only to students with a small group of friends.

After a few hours of getting ready and a couple of glasses of wine later, the group arrived at Revolutions feeling "giddy" and ready to start their night.

The group was required to show tickets and a negative Covid test upon entry.

Each woman was given a free drink coupon for a pre-poured, unattended glasses of Pinot Grigio.

"I took the drink thinking that the event was closed," Emily said.

"I wouldn't usually do that, but I took the drink in good faith."

Emily said she took a seat with her friends and remembers taking social media videos and photos at around 9.30pm.

"That's the last thing I remember before waking up in hospital," she said.

After just one drink at the event, Emily had been spiked.

She was found by a female security guard on the bathroom floor unconscious, unable to move and injured.

She suffered a serious injury to her hand in a fall and was unable to speak or move.

She was in and out of consciousness, throwing up, and was not in control of her own body, she said.

She went to A&E at University Hospital Southampton on the night of the incident on December 6, 2021.

Emily added: "I was in the hospital all night, I woke up a few hours into it.

"While I was there I saw a fellow classmate in there who was also spiked at the event.

"My vision was blurry, I felt very drained and woozy."

By 7am, Emily was sent home, but no tests were done at the hospital to determine what was in her system.

A spokesperson from Hampshire Police said: "Officers watched the CCTV from Vodka Revolution on the night of the incident, however the footage did not capture anything suspicious and did not identify any potential offender.  

"We recognise that drink spiking is a big concern for communities and we’ve been working really hard to develop our understanding of spiking in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

"Common spiking symptoms are confusion, lack of coordination, slurred speech, nausea, hallucinations, vomiting, paranoia and unconsciousness.

"If you think you or a friend has been spiked, tell a member of staff straight away, seek medical attention, report it to the police."

Emily said the incident has completely put her off going on nights out, and that she does not feel she can trust anyone.

She said: "[The perpetrator] could be in my lecture. It's uncomfortable, it's an unease."

Emily is calling on the university to do more to support its students.

She wants the university to give victims more than a "tick-box exercise" to report incidents, and thinks that alerts should be issued after attacks or spikings.

She added: "They need to publicly condemn perpetrators, call it what it is: they are criminals.

"[The university] has a position of power and can make a positive change and keep people safe.

"I can't do it just as one person. I don't understand why they are not more disturbed that this is happening."

A University of Southampton spokesperson said: “We were very sorry and concerned to learn of this appalling incident involving one of our students in the city.

"It must have been extremely distressing and our thoughts remain with her and her family.

"We continue to offer support and strongly urge any student experiencing similar issues to contact our support services or the police.

“This drinks spiking incident happened at an event off-campus and not organised by the University.

"However, we take the safety and wellbeing of our students very seriously and recently we have run advice and prevention campaigns, funded safety measures in our own bars, such as drinks covers and testing strips, and worked closely with city venues, the city council, police and the Students’ Union to promote zero tolerance of spiking.

“Our students can report any incident which has affected them, for example instances of spiking, bullying or harassment of any kind, through our Report and Support tool.

"Every report, which can be anonymous if preferred, is followed up and fully investigated. We are committed to continually improving our support to students and regularly review measures in place to help keep them as safe as possible.”