Teenager, 19, is 'lucky to be alive' after her drink was spiked with Ketamine

A teenager has revealed she feels 'lucky to be alive' after her drink was spiked with a notorious date-rape drug while on a night out in Leicester.

Sophie Pearce, from Braunstone, woke up in Leicester Royal Infirmary on Sunday afternoon attached to IV lines and a heart monitor after suffering three seizures.

The 19-year-old, who is now recovering at home, has shared details of 'the most frightening experience' of her life in an effort to warn other young people about the dangers of drink-spiking.

She was on her 'first proper night out' since turning 18 during coronavirus lockdown when ketamine was slipped into her drink as she danced at a Leicester nightclub with her girlfriend, she revealed.

Known as Special K to users, the Class B drug is also a powerful anaesthetic used by vets that can prove fatal, especially if mixed with other drugs, including alcohol.

Because of effects such as confusion, delirium, muscle paralysis and loss of memory, it has also been used by sexual predators to target unsuspecting victims.

In a post on Facebook, Ms Pearce said: 'I went out on Saturday night to a nightclub where I had my drinks spiked, which resulted in me having three seizures and being in a really bad way.

'I had to be pumped with bags of fluids and linked up to heart monitors. Apparently, I was spiked with Ketamine and I'm honestly so lucky that the ambulance got to me in time.'

She added: 'To everyone that thinks that these things won't happen to them, just like I did, it DEFINITELY DOES!! So please don't be fooled.

'Don't leave your drinks, even for a split second. I held onto my drinks most of the night but obviously didn't pay attention to people walking by. I honestly don't get what people get out of doing this to others.'

Speaking to LeicestershireLive, Ms Pearce said: 'It was supposed to be the first proper night out I've had since turning 18 during the pandemic.

'My partner and I had actually planned to watch a film at home, but changed our minds at the last minute. Instead, we decided to go out to a club and meet some friends. It was also our first real night out together.'

Ms Pearce said the pair arrived at the nightclub shortly before 11pm on Saturday night. 

'We were dancing and socialising, it was a good atmosphere,' she said. 'I regard myself as quite a cautious person and, because it was so busy and the wait to get served at the bar was about half-an-hour, we only had a few drinks.

'I'm aware of girls getting their drinks spiked in clubs and its something that I was careful to avoid.

'It's still all a bit hazy, but we were keeping our drinks close by - the only time I can think it could have happened was when I was hugging some friends I hadn't seen for a long time since the lockdown.

'I suppose that's all it takes - just a few seconds when you are momentarily distracted.'

At some point in the evening, Ms Pearce said she began to feel a bit 'woozy'. 'It was like that tipsy feeling you get after a few drinks,' she recalls.

'But I remember thinking I hadn't had enough to be drunk. I do remember, about halfway through the night, one of my drinks tasting a bit odd, I can't explain how. But I asked my girlfriend to have a sip and she thought it was okay.'

Most of the details about what happened next have come from her girlfriend, her mother Samantha Chant, paramedics and hospital staff.

'That's the scary thing,' she said. 'Most of the night is a complete blank. Anything could have happened to me and I wouldn't have known about it.

'Apparently, I called my mum before leaving the club at about 4am and she stayed on the phone with me as we got a taxi home. When I got there, that's when I started having seizures and my mum called for an ambulance.'

She said she was taken to A&E after she was assessed by paramedics and her girlfriend 'also felt a bit ill but was okay'.  

'When I woke up on a hospital ward I was still pretty out of it. I

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