Pryzm: Nottingham nightclub joins boycott over needle spiking concerns

The nightclub said it had listened to staff and guests before deciding to close

A nightclub where a woman suspects she was spiked with a needle is closing its doors for one night to support a planned boycott of venues.

Some students have vowed to stay away from bars and nightclubs on Wednesday in response to increasing reports of drink spiking and spiking with needles.

Pryzm nightclub in Nottingham has now joined other bars in closing its doors that night.

It said the decision was made "in solidarity with the nightlife boycott".

The national Night In campaign was started by two students over concerns about a recent rise in spiking incidents.

They said they wanted to raise awareness of the issue and put pressure on venues to do more to keep people safe.

Zara Owen believes she was injected with a needle during a night out in Nottingham

Nottinghamshire Police says it has received 32 reports of people having their drinks contaminated in recent weeks and 15 reports of spiking involving needles.

Nottingham student, Zara Owen, said she blacked out shortly after arriving at Pryzm nightclub on 10 October and the next day found a pin prick on her leg.

She had no further recollection of the evening but was told by her housemate she was found on her own in a takeaway.

Extra officers have been put on patrol in response to the reports

A statement from Pryzm said it had listened to staff and guests and would close its student night on Wednesday.

It added: "Our commitment to guest safety remains our number one priority and we will continue to improve the measures we have in place with improvements to our training programmes, communication of our We Care programme and anti-spiking devices being made available.

"We will continue with our 100% search policy, our security wearing bodycams and our specialist welfare team including an on-site medic and first aiders managing our medical room.

"We would like to show our support to our student partners this Wednesday in raising the awareness of safety in the night-time economy.

"Let's work together to stamp this out."

Six bars in Nottingham have also said they will close at 22:00 BST and others have pledged to give female staff the night off to support the boycott.

Nottinghamshire Police increased patrols in the city centre on the weekend in response to concerns.

The force said the majority of the spiking reports had been made by female students but there had also been reports of young men being potentially spiked too.

Earlier this month three men aged 18, 19 and 20 were arrested over spiking claims. Two were released under investigation and the third has been released on bail.