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Halloween is one of the biggest student nights of the year, with hundreds of thousands of young people taking to the streets, clubs, pubs and parties for a big blowout.

However, they have been warned to watch out for spiking, as 400,000 students believe they’ve been spiked at some point.

A major survey of 3,700+ UK students by SOS-UK and the NUS found 14% “know or think” they’ve been spiked, and most never report it.

That under-reporting mirrors national research showing around 90% of spiking incidents go unreported. With 2,904,425 higher-education enrolments in 2023/24, that 14% would equate to roughly 400,000 students.

The government is moving to make spiking a specific criminal offence — simplifying older laws and increasing penalties — amid mounting pressure from police

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