Concerns have been raised in recent years about drinks being spiked in clubs in Blackpool - now the Government is set to make spiking a specific criminal offence.

The new law will be among a raft of new bills brought in during the King's Speech this Wednesday (July 17).

Although spiking drinks is already a crime, it is often covered by other offences against the person, such as robbery or sexual offences.

By being separately designated as an offence in its own right, it is hoped that police would be better able to respond to such incidents.

Spiking is predominantly seen as an offence against women, although men have also been victims.

In recent years it is not only drinks that have been spiked - there have even been concerns that vapes have been spiked too.

In Blackpool, campaigner Antonia Charlesworth-Stack, who runs an online map where women can anonymously report incidents of sexual harassment, says spiking is a problem issue in the resort.

She set up the online Reclaim Blackpool project, which physically maps instances of harassment towards women and girls on the streets and in public spaces in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.

She says that women who have been spiked have not always been treated sympathetically by door staff, outlining one of the problems victims have of being taken seriously.

Antonia said previously: "Bouncers are the first port of call, and when women receive this negative ‘victim-blaming’ response from the first person they ask for help why would they then expect to be believed by authorities?”

In a Gazette report in August last year she said that there had been 10 incidents of spiking in one club alone in just one week.

There were more than 6,500 incidents of spiking reported to police in England and Wales in the year ending April 2023 - and the problem is believed to be under-reported, for various reasons.

it is hoped that with the new bill, victims will find it easier to report cases to the police.

The spiking law will only apply in England and Wales at this time.