"We didn't think we'd be taken seriously if we reported it": Essex couple woke up in random hotel after being spiked
Stephen and Sara Ridgewell were spiked at an engagement party in 2023
Last updated 3rd Jul 2025
An Essex couple who were spiked at an engagement party say they didn't report because they thought "it wouldn't be taken seriously".
It comes after new government legislation announcing spiking as a specific criminal offence.
Stephen and Sara Ridgewell, from Tiptree, were spiked at an engagement party in Chelmsford in February 2023.
They tell Greatest Hits Radio: "we just disappeared, we have no recollection of leaving the venue. Colleagues told us we were out of control, which is not something we ever do."
Stephen and Sara woke up at a hotel they don’t remember getting to, having paid for the room on Stephen’s card.
Stephen tells us he had wet himself and cut his head falling over.
"It was completely horrendous. We felt awful afterwards, not like any hangover we'd had before."
"It's taken us quite a while to come back round to going out and feel less anxious about it."
"We now always watch the bartender make our drinks and if I leave my drink for a second, I now won't touch it."
The new spiking offence under the Policing Crime Bill hopes to make it easier to prosecute those who administer harmful substances without consent, and encourage more victims to come forward.
Data by charity, CounterSpike, reveals 7% of people in the East of England have had a drink spiked.
Middle-aged adults (35-52) are increasingly more represented in police and hospital data, especially in incidents linked to robbery and theft.
The Ridgewell's did not report the incident to the police out of fear of "not being taken seriously".
Only 11% of spiking victims report it to the police, research shows.
The main reasons are due to embarrassment, fear of not being taken seriously, and people thinking it was their own responsibility.
More than 50% of people feel the drinks spiking epidemic is on the rise, as the UK festival is underway and young people attend post school and university exam parties.
Charity Spike Aware UK have launched a campaign to educate people on the dangers and motivations of spiking, encouraging people to protect themselves, and calling for police, government, charities and businesses to pull together to tackle the spiking epidemic.
If you think you or someone you know has been affected by spiking, you can contact Essex police on 999 or 101 in non-emergency cases, or report it online at https://www.essex.police.uk/ro/report/report-spiking/v2/report-spiking/.