Ruby Calver was out with friends when she suddenly couldn’t move and collapsed
A woman is warning people not to leave their drinks unattended after her girls’ night out ended in horror when she collapsed after being ‘spiked’. Ruby Calver was out with friends when she suddenly felt an ‘immense feeling of dread’ and her legs wouldn’t move properly, before she collapsed to the floor.
The 21-year-old was carried out of a club in Shoreditch, East London, where she vomited repeatedly while her cousin rang for an ambulance. Ruby says she blacked out after collapsing and the next thing she remembers is waking up in hospital the following morning.
The pet sitter says she can ‘normally handle her drink well’ and fears she was spiked when her newly ordered drink was left unattended at the bar. Ruby reported the incident to police and says she’s waiting on forensic results from a urine sample she gave.
Now, Ruby is urging women to ‘stick together’ on nights out and never leave drinks unattended to avoid the same thing happening to them. Ruby, from Chelmsford, Essex, said: “Out of nowhere, there was this immense feeling of dread.
“I remember thinking ‘something’s not right’. The last thing I remember is tapping my cousin aggressively and then it just went black. Apparently I just fell on the floor, my legs just gave out. I have no idea how we got out. Apparently some men lifted me up and took me outside, but my memory of it is so blacked out.
“My cousin phoned for an ambulance. Most of my ‘memory’ is from what people have told me – the next day I woke up and I had hand marks on my arms because they had to hold me up. Apparently I was just completely dead weight, my legs weren’t working.
“The only thing I remember outside [the club] is looking down at my legs and thinking ‘my legs aren’t working, why are my legs not working?’ I was so confused.”
After collapsing, Ruby doesn’t remember much apart from vomiting repeatedly – something she says she doesn’t usually do. Ruby said: “I was puking constantly – on the street, in the hospital and in the ambulance. Apparently it just kept going and going. Normally [if I throw up on a night out] I puke twice and then I sober up and I’m ready to go home.
“It was like my body was rejecting what I had and it was trying to get it out.”
Ruby says she ‘normally holds her alcohol well’, and only drank four small cocktail cans at the day event and, after deciding to stay out, had a few more alcoholic drinks later in the evening. Ruby said: “I do hold my alcohol well because I’m a taller girl. I’m 5ft 10ins and I weigh 200lbs so normally I can handle my drink really well.
“I had drunk less than I normally would. I’d eaten when we were out and we took breaks in between drinking. I remember at certain points [throughout the day] sobering up completely.
“We had little cocktail cans, we had four of those at the start, then three tiny cocktail teacups. I had two stronger drinks in the final place, two double vodka and cokes, but normally I have about 10 of those on my nights out and I’m fine.
“It was less than I would usually drink on a night out and the alcohol wasn’t as strong. It doesn’t make any sense. I think the whole time I kind of knew I must have been spiked.”
Ruby says officers from the Met Police attended the hospital to collect a urine sample for forensic testing, which she is currently waiting to receive the results of. She says the experience has made her more ‘worried’ and ‘hypervigilant’ when going on nights out.
Ruby said: “It’s definitely freaked me out – I’ve started researching things like cup covers. I just want to be able to go out and have a nice time but it does put me off, I just don’t want to go out any more. I‘m hypervigilant all the time and I’m assessing my surroundings, which is tiring.”
Now Ruby is warning women to stick together and not leave their drinks unattended when on a night out. Ruby said: “Don’t go anywhere by yourself – go to the bathrooms with people, don’t go outside, don’t go off on your own.
“Keep your girls around you because at any time you could just not feel right. Have friends around, possibly drink covers and keep an eye out, be wary. Definitely don’t leave your drink on the bar unattended for too long.”
The Met Police said they responded to reports of an alleged spiking at a bar in Shoreditch. They said officers, alongside the London Ambulance Service, attended and treated a woman in her 20s before taking her to hospital and that she continues to be supported by officers.
Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD522/07JUN26. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “The Met has invested significantly in tackling spiking, leading on new detection technology and working with partners to strengthen prevention in nightlife settings.
“From January to December 2025, positive outcomes, including charges, increased by 132 per cent compared to the previous year.”
