Isle of Wight Festival: Warning over suspected vape spiking

Chloe Hammerton collapsed at the Isle of Wight Festival

A festival-goer has described "losing control" of her body after she was allegedly given a poisonous vape.

Chloe Hammerton, 26, from Southampton, was taken ill at the Isle of Wight Festival after she said she took a puff from a vape offered by a stranger.

She said she wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of spiked vapes.

A 51-year-old man, from Rochester, Kent, has been arrested on suspicion of administering a poison or noxious substance with intent.

Ms Hammerton had been attending the festival in Newport with her partner, brother and his girlfriend on 17 June, ahead of a headline appearance by George Ezra.

She said she recalled taking a puff on a vape offered by stranger and "instantly felt unwell".

"It was like the entire world went into slow motion, pins and needles throughout my body and then I collapsed onto the floor - within a minute I was unconscious," she said.

She was helped by a passing nurse and medical teams at the festival before returning to the mainland and going to Southampton General Hospital where she remained "vomiting uncontrollably" for another 16 hours.

Ms Hammerton received medical help after she collapsed

She said it had been a "horrific ordeal".

"I couldn't compute what had happened - I was confused," she said.

"Do not accept anything off someone you don't know. We're aware of drink spiking - you wouldn't take a drink someone offered you at a festival, but vape spiking isn't as well known and I hope people won't go through what I went through."

Dawn Dines of campaign group Stamp Out Spiking said vape spiking was a "hugely unreported crime".

"It's happening on our streets every day," she said.

"All of these different flavours - it's so easy to ask someone 'why don't you try my blueberry vape? ' - that's as quickly as you can catch somebody," she added.

In a statement the Isle of Wight Festival said it was an "isolated incident".

"It was dealt with quickly and professionally and no further reports of this nature have been recorded," the statement added.