City council and police need to be less prudish and discuss the issue

HERE we go again – our city council and Avon and Somerset Police declined invitations to attend a meeting which was being held to discuss the very serious issue of drink-spiking in Bristol’s pubs and nightclubs.

How pathetic! The excuse given for the non-attendance by both the city council and the police was the venue being inappropriate as it was an SEV (sexual entertainment venue), which at the time was closed as it was only open during the evening.

I understand by continuing to read the article published in the Bristol Post that the Bristol Night Watch Forum had arranged this meeting to discuss the problem of drink-spiking, which seems to be escalating across Bristol.

This practice is of a major concern as it can lead to serious incidents involving customers who have a right to be able to go out during any evening to attend any venue safely.

I see that our mayor’s office, Bristol City licensing committee and the police stated they didn’t attend because they described the venue as inappropriate as it was an SEV, even though it was closed to normal business during the day.

This refusal only adds fuel to the issue of SEVs not being welcome within our city.

However, more importantly the serious issue of drink-spiking was not discussed with the ruling powers of our city.

I was the victim of this dangerous practice a few years ago when I attended the Christmas markets in Birmingham.

To this day I have no recollection of the train journey back to Bristol until I woke up at home the next day. I was lucky as I had my son and a close family friend with me who helped me home.

I was very concerned that my drink had been spiked, therefore the company I worked for arranged a urine test 48 hours later, which revealed that my drink had indeed been spiked with rohypnol.

Knowing how it affected me this could lead to serious incidents to both men and women across our city.

So come on Mr Mayor and Avon and Somerset Police, stop being so prudish about a venue.

You have missed the opportunity to discuss ways of stopping this vulgar and serious problem and also ways to safeguard people who wish to go out for entertainment and leisure purposes.

Name and address withheld at request