Police have apologised to a woman after taking months to pass on test results which show she was spiked a town centre nightclub.

The 20-year-old victim was with her friends at the Green Room in Maidstone on October 30 last year when she felt unwell and collapsed on the stairs.

After blacking out, and being seen on CCTV being carried down the stairs by bouncers, the next thing she remembers is waking up at her brother's home.

She reported the incident to police two days later after discovering a needle mark on her leg when she took a bath.

After hearing nothing back from the force after taking tests she contacted them in March and found out her results were with the police in the middle of January, but they had failed to pass them on.

Toxicology results showed the young woman had traces of morphine in her system.

The Green Rooms closed mysteriously last year due to financial losses from the Covid-19 pandemic but has since reopened under new ownership this month.

Kent Police have apologised for the negative experience the woman experienced.

Det Ch Insp Steve McLean said: "On Monday, November 1 2021, we received a report that a woman had been spiked at the Green Rooms in Maidstone late the previous Saturday.

"Officers carried out a full and thorough investigation into the incident including speaking to witnesses and reviewing all available CCTV footage, with no suspect identified. The case was filed at the end of December pending further information coming to light.

"Toxicology results were returned to Kent Police around a month later and the victim was updated at the end of March.

"While it is not unusual for such samples to take a number of months to be processed, we acknowledge there was some delay in notifying the victim and will review the circumstances to identify any opportunities to learn and improve.

"We are therefore sorry to hear the victim’s experience on this occasion was not as positive as we would hope..."

"Spiking is a terrible offence and we are committed to providing victims with the best service possible including any support they may require.

"We recognise it can sometimes be difficult to visit a police station and therefore strive to make victims and witnesses feel as comfortable as we can when they attend to give statements or provide tests for analysis. We are therefore sorry to hear the victim’s experience on this occasion was not as positive as we would hope.

"We continue to encourage victims of spiking and other offences that disproportionately affect women and girls to report incidents to us, safe in the knowledge that we will do everything we can to protect them from any further harm and bring those responsible to justice."