'I lost my trust in society after I was spiked'

Dean Burns said he felt anxious and depressed after being spiked

A Kent councillor said he lost his trust in people after becoming a victim of spiking.

Dean Burns, 50, from Ashford, said the incident - which damaged his body and left him with anxiety and depression - happened in a pub with friends.

Now he wants to raise awareness of the crime and how it can be prevented.

"It just happened so fast," said Mr Burns, a Reform UK councillor for Ashford East on Kent County Council (KCC).

"I just lost trust in society around me," he continued.

"I couldn't walk into a pub and have lunch. I just wanted to stay away from these sorts of places because it makes you realise how vulnerable you can be."

Mr Burns said he was spiked with GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric), which incapacitated him.

After being taken home by his wife, Mr Burns said he fell out the car and crawled on his hands and knees to get to the house.

"I had never been like that, ever," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Burns said he was holding onto the bedroom door and collapsed onto the floor, pulling the door off its hinges.

"That's when they knew that something was seriously wrong."

Only one in ten spiking cases get reported to police, figures show

According to Home Office statistics, there were 6,732 reports of spiking between May 2022 and 2023, which included 957 instances of needle assaults, most commonly in bars and nightclubs.

The charity Drinkaware estimated 90% of cases go unreported to police.

Mr Burns said he is working with councillor Diane Morton to find out what more can be done by the council to prevent spiking in all its forms.