THREE Farnham girls were rushed to hospital after their drinks were spiked with a date rape drug during a night out on the town.
The girls, all aged 17 years and A-level students at Farnham College, had been at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (SIAD) Students' Union on Saturday night when the disturbing incident happened.
Bar and security staff at the union spotted that the girls were unwell in the early hours of Sunday morning and an ambulance was immediately called out.
The girls were taken to the Royal Surrey County Hospital (RSCH) in Guildford.
A police spokesman confirmed they had all tested positive for a date rape drug.
The notorious Rohypnol is just one of the possible substances that the attacker could have used.
Speaking out this week, Keith Manning - the father of one of the girls - has warned young people in the town to be vigilant.
He said: "There's a cowardly piece of scum stalking Farnham looking for girls to attack. It's disgusting. He needs to be locked up."
Fortunately, he added, the girls were OK, but it's only a matter of luck.
The girls had arrived at the Students' Union late on Saturday night and bought drinks from the bar.
They shared their drinks, and a police spokesman was unable to confirm at this stage whether all three drinks had been spiked.
Keith's daughter, who did not want to be named, said: "We hadn't been drinking very much and we hadn't noticed anything unusual or suspicious. But we all started to feel ill. I felt very sick and I was shaking. It was so fortunate that the bar staff and security spotted that something was wrong with us and that we weren't drunk."
She added that the drinks had not tasted or looked suspicious.
Security staff stayed with the girls and took them out of the main bar before calling an ambulance.
Keith claims that in spite of the fact that Students' Union staff had picked up on their symptoms, the medical team at the RSCH failed to conduct drugs tests. The girls were discharged after around three hours in the accident and emergency department.
An official complaint against the hospital was lodged this week by the family of one of the girls.
Keith claimed: "Basically they [medical staff] just assumed the girls were drunk. The mother of one of the girls came to pick them up from the hospital, and they were still in a very bad way by the time they came home."
A spokesman for the RSCH confirmed that the girls had not been tested for drugs, and stated that it is up to the patients to contact the police regarding incidents that have taken place outside of the hospital.
"Patients who present at A & E are treated for their medical symptoms," the RSCH spokesman added. "When it is appropriate and safe to do so, they are discharged home. In this case, the girls in question were accompanied by one of their parents."
On Tuesday, Keith's daughter was still recovering from her ordeal. She said: "It was terrifying. I think it's worse to think about it now, because at the time we just felt so ill. Anything could have happened. I'm still feeling pretty bad. You just don't expect something like this to happen in Farnham."
Surrey Police officers had visited the girls' homes on Sunday morning where they were able to carry out the drugs tests.
The initial tests confirm that a date rape drug was present in their urine, but further tests on the samples are being carried out to confirm which drug had been used.
The police spokesman said: "Date rape drugs like Rohypnol do not stay in the body for long, so it was vital that we took the tests as soon as we could."
A campaign to raise awareness of drink spiking was launched by the force in November 2003, when local bars and pubs were briefed by the police about the possible symptoms of date rape drugs.
The police spokesman said a full investigation has been launched to find the person responsible for this incident.
Staff at SIAD and the Students' Union are working closely with the police to find the attacker.
The president of the Students' Union, Simon Markwell, stated: "We will do everything we can to help the police. We are very concerned that this has happened in Farnham. Our staff acted professionally and quickly, we urge people to be on their guard."
A SIAD spokesman was also greatly concerned by the incident, and stated that student safety is a primary concern.
"We would encourage all our students, wherever they may be, to be alert to the danger of spiked drinks. We urge them to follow the advice of Surrey Police by never leaving drinks unattended in pubs or clubs, and by contacting a member of staff or a trusted friend if they suspect a drink has been spiked."