A MINEHEAD mother spoke this week of her horror at discovering her 23-year-old daughter had been the victim of an alleged 'drink spiking' incident in a town centre pub. Although she suffered no permanent harm, her daughter, who lives and works locally, was left "unable to move a muscle" after drinking just two bottles of alcopops into which a drug or other substance is believed to have been slipped last Saturday night. "Luckily her boyfriend and a friend were with her and they were able to carry her out to the car and take her home," said the mother, who contacted the Free Press but asked not to be named. "The effects gradually wore off overnight but the horror of what happened to her continues to haunt her. "Other people just thought she was drunk because she appeared absolutely paralytic and fell to the floor. "She's OK now but I just keep on thinking of what could have happened if she hadn't had anyone with her. "The potential consequences are just too awful to contemplate - she could have died and I'm really worried about this happening to anyone else. "I just think people should be aware of it." The mother insisted her daughter had not put her drinks down and had kept hold of them throughout her time in the pub. And she said the only reason her daughter's friend recognised what was happening was because she had been the victim of a 'spiking' the previous week. Both incidents are alleged to have taken place in the Wellington Hotel but the mother said she was sure the problem there was no worse than anywhere else in the town. She said her daughter had not reported the allegation to the police but had spoken to the manager of the venue this week to explain what had happened and had been told that the Wellington carried out regular checks and had a tough policy on the issue. This was confirmed by Rod Price, chief executive of the Richards Hotels Group, which owns the Wellington. "We're very much aware that there are idiots in society who do occasionally spike drinks and we are aware that this has happened in the Minehead area previously," Mr Price told the Free Press. "Our staff are trained to be vigilant and we carry out search procedures on people entering the premises. "Only a few weeks ago we found someone in possession of what we believe was cocaine and the police were called. "We recognise this type of thing happens but we're doing everything we can as a company to combat it." Mr Price stressed the Richards Hotels Group took the issue very seriously and was taking positive action. He said there had been an incident of 'drink spiking' at the Wellington about 18 months ago and he hoped this was not the start of a new spate of incidents. But he urged anyone with any suspicions to report them immediately to bar staff or management. "We will treat any allegations or information passed to us very seriously," said Mr Price. His advice was reiterated by the head of the West Somerset police sector Inspector Nic Crocker, who has been in the post for just a few months. He said the alleged incident was the first 'spiking' he had encountered since taking up his new role, although he had had experience of the problem in his former job in Taunton. "It is very rare but it does happen and we would take anything like this very seriously," said Inspector Crocker. "It can have potentially very dangerous consequences. It can be very difficult to differentiate between someone who is drunk and someone who has genuinely been a victim of 'spiking'. "But I would urge anyone who thinks they have had their drink spiked to contact the police immediately so that we can get them medical help and obtain evidence through blood samples, CCTV footage and other means. "If it is happening, we want to know about it." Inspector Crocker said the police had a very close and good working relationship with local licensees and that any problems would be resolved by them working together in partnership. "Our advice to people is to literally nurse their drinks when they are out, keep hold of them at all times and if they have to be left at any time, for example for a visit to the toilet, make sure they are given to a friend for safekeeping. "And our message to anyone who thinks it is fun to spike drinks is - think again. "This sort of thing can change people's lives and can be extremely dangerous. "We and the courts take this extremely seriously." Drink spiking is a term used to describe when alcohol or other drugs, often depressant substances, are added unknowingly to someone's drink. The effects can begin to take hold within 15 minutes and last up to eight hours or longer and can induce sleepiness, dizziness, drowsiness and muscle relaxation, as well as visual problems, nausea and slurred speech.