Women ill after suspected drink spike at Pub in the Park festival
A man has described his wife's "horrendous experience" of suffering convulsions and falling unconscious after a suspected drink spiking at a festival.Lucy Hazlem, 45, is one of three people – including a schoolgirl – believed to have been drugged on Friday while at Pub in the Park festival in Marlow, Buckinghamshire."It's no fault of anybody at Pub in the Park: you can't police against people who have these awful intentions," said Lucy's husband Rob Hazlem.Pub in the Park said it took the matter "very seriously" and was working with authorities and its own security teams to "try and identify any perpetrators".
Thames Valley Police confirmed it was investigating two incidents. It said there were officers at the festival and asked people "to report any instance of drink spiking or suspicious activity".
'Sharing a carafe'
Mr Hazlem, 52, said his wife was sharing a carafe of wine with friends "over a period of hours" at the music and food festival on Friday evening."She left feeling absolutely fine. She was walking back to her friend's house when she started to feel a lot more drunk that she was."She went to the bathroom, then staggered into a unit and went down within seconds."Lucy's friends called him after she was "violently sick" many times."When I arrived she had fallen unconscious, so we put her in a bed. You think 'it must be alcohol', but I thought, 'this is not her – something has happened'."
Mr Hazlem said Lucy "took a turn for the worse" and suffered "convulsions". An ambulance crew suggested she might be having a stroke and took her to hospital."She was unresponsive for several hours, then about 05:30 BST the doctor said her stats were fine.""It was absolutely horrible to see my wife in that state".
The BBC has seen two further reports of a woman and girl suffering similar effects after attending the festival.A woman, who did not want to be named, posted on social media to say her adult daughter "was spiked" and taken to hospital where she was "unconscious" for five hours."She's careful with her drinks, so must be a skilled person," the woman wrote.A WhatsApp message shared in a group for parents at a school said a Year 11 student had been given a "spiked drink" by an older man, leaving her "severely drugged and tranquilised".Thames Valley Police said: "At the festival man offered a teenage girl a drink which she accepted and then walked away. "A short while later she became unwell and walked to the medical tent. The incident was reported and an investigation is ongoing."It said it was also investigating Lucy's case but had not received any further reports around spiking.
A spokesperson for Pub in the Park said: "We are aware of these incidents that occurred on Friday night."We have been working with the police, local authorities and our own security and health and safety teams to try and identify any perpetrators."Mr Hazlem wanted to urge people to be extra vigilant about the risks of spiking."Lucy was fortunate to have friends able to take care of her before I could get there. There was no way my wife could have done anything for herself," he said."Pub in the Park has been a fantastic family fun day and evening out. You don't expect that type of thing to happen at a small town event," he added.
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