Girl drugged in pub

A TERRIFIED woman passed out after the 'date-rape' drug Rohipnol was slipped into her drink as she socialised with friends in a Lewes pub.

The 22-year-old started to behave erratically after just three glasses on wine in The Rainbow in Lewes High Street.

By 10pm she became violently ill in the toilet. And she was then followed into the toilet by a man she had never seen before.

The man was confronted by her friends who told him to go away.

Because she was in such a bad way, staff allowed her to stay overnight in a spare room at the pub.

The following day, still ill, she went to her doctor. The drug was found in her system after blood and urine tests.

The local woman, who does not wish to be named, told the Express this week: 'I want people to be aware that no matter where you are you can never be too careful about where you leave your drink.

'I was with my friends in my own local when this happened.

'If my friends and staff had not acted as they did, I don't know what would have happened to me.'

The woman had been with her friends all the evening of June 22. None of them noticed the man described as having a 'pinched' face, about 5ft 2ins in height, wearing scruffy clothes and with long hair under a baseball cap.

While she danced, the woman left her white wine and tonic on the table.

'Twenty minutes later I started feeling very emotional,' she added. 'I burst into tears. My friends thought perhaps I was drunk. I tried to speak but I couldn't get the words out. It was horrible.

'I felt as though my head was not on my body.

'I went to the loo. My friend came in as the man was entering. He said he wanted to see if I was all right. We had never seen him before. He left in a hurry.'

It later turned out that the man had been seen following the woman and her friends around the pub.

Notices

Said Rainbow supervisor Magda Cole: 'We did everything we could. She was throwing up. She was taken upstairs and spent the night on the sofa.

'It was a real shock to hear that she had been drugged. We now have notices in the ladies toilets warning customers to guard their drinks. We believe the incident was a one-off. We had never seen the man before.'

It took the woman five days to recover from the drug which is used as a tranquiliser.

PC Anna Skinner of the Lewes community team said: 'This was a one-off incident but it has left the victim seriously shaken following her doctor's diagnosis.

'This gives us the opportunity to remind people to be aware of anyone acting suspiciously around their drinks while they are in pubs and bars.'

Local pubs in the Lewes area have been made aware of The Rainbow incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sussex Police non-emergency call centre on 0845 60 70 999 or Crimestoppers anonymously and free on 0800 555 111.