Woman's warning after drink 'spiked' with unknown powder in Cardiff bar

A woman has issued a stark warning to others after her drink was "spiked" with an unknown white powder on a night out in Cardiff.

Molly, 24, from Newport, was enjoying an evening with friends in Peppermint bar in the city centre when she spotted a mysterious substance in her vodka lemonade.

Fortunately, she saw it before taking a sip - but said things "could have been extremely different if I hadn’t have been so observant."

Molly said in a Facebook post, which has been shared more than 1,000 times: "I was out in Cardiff last night with the girls and whilst in Peppermint I VERY LUCKILY noticed that my drink had bits of powder in it, where some inhumane idiot had attempted to spike me. 

"The drink didn’t leave my hand, I had literally walked from the bar to a table (a matter of minutes).

"Things could have been extremely different if I hadn’t have been so observant, which is very scary to even think about.

"So please please please be EXTRA cautious with your drinks whilst you are out. It’s sad it has to be this way but unfortunately this is a regular occurrence."

Molly, who works as a probation officer, has reported the issue to Peppermint bar and was told the bar will review its CCTV cameras of the incident.

'Why is this going on in this day and age?'

"I'm angry more than anything", Molly told ITV Wales.

"Why is this going on in this day and age? Why can't we go out and enjoy ourselves without things like that happening?

"And what I'm thinking now is what could have happened? What was in my drink, we don't know - but the consequences could have been very different if I hadn't noticed."

Peppermint bar said the matter was being taken "extremely seriously."

A spokesperson said: “We were made aware of this incident this morning through Molly’s Facebook post and we made contact with her straight away to assess the timings of when she was in the venue and her movements around the bar so we can review our CCTV footage.

"We would encourage anyone who suspects that their drink may have been spiked to make a staff member aware immediately. Our staff have been trained to help people who suspect their drink has been spiked and we have a protocol that we follow to ensure the safety of our customers.

"Had we been handed this drink at the time, we would have provided it to the police who could have then tested it. We also provide drinks toppers as another safety measure for anyone concerned about drinks spiking.

"We take this extremely seriously and we are working with Molly to offer her as much information and support as we can and will involve the police if relevant.”

Last autumn, a Cardiff University student whose drink was spiked on a night out started a campaign to boycott bars and nightclubs in an attempt to raise awareness of the issue.

The student, who remained anonymous, told ITV Wales she started to lose control of her body, was unable to stand up straight and became profusely ill.

Speaking at the time, Cardiff MP Anna McMorrin said women and girls are "not safe" and called for more action to protect them against incidences of spiking.