An unsuspecting man was injected by a woman in a south east London nightclub and only realised when he looked down to see a needle sticking out his arm.
Richie Waynes, 27, Camden, was injected by a woman he did not know and spent weeks wondering if he had contracted a deadly virus.
Richie was stabbed with the needle in March last year at a nightclub in Greenwich and wanted to share his story now following recent reports that spikings by injection are increasing.
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Richie, a marketing account manager, told MyLondon: “I looked down and there was a needle sticking right out of my arm. The woman who I believe did it just ran off afterwards. I flung the needle out of my arm and then went into panic mode.
“I was so scared. At first my friends I was with didn’t believe me until I found the needle on the floor and showed them.
“I have seen recently that there has been an increase in spiking cases in nightclubs across the country, especially towards girls. I wanted to share my story to show people that it is happening and we should be aware of it.”
Richie explained that apart from the initial pain of being stabbed he didn’t feel any adverse effects.
He said that he believes he was lucky he acted fast and pulled the needle out, which probably meant that nothing could be injected into him.
The initial stabbing was just the start of a traumatic ordeal for Richie. He continued and said: “The actual incident wasn’t that traumatic for me, it was what came after.
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“I went to the hospital to test for diseases that could be carried on a needle. They tested me for all sorts. I was worried I would contract hepatitis or HIV.
“I had to wait several weeks and a few more tests before I heard the results. Those weeks were horrifying. I was constantly thinking about all the diseases that I could have and it worked me into a kind of frenzy.”
Richie’s story comes days after Home Secretary Priti Patel urged the police to investigate recent spiking incidents via needles in nightclubs.
The spate of recent cases has sparked a huge student movement calling for people to boycott nightclubs.
One campaign first set up in Edinburgh, called Girls Night In, now has at least 25 groups, run by students, set up in university towns.
One, called Girls Night In Nottingham, has called for people to boycott nightclubs on 27 October to ensure the "spiking outbreak is taken seriously".
Richie called police after the incident and they investigated the case. Due to a lack of cameras inside the venue they were unable to identify any suspects and the case was closed.
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