Crawley teen nearly died after drink was spiked on Crete holiday

Emily Earle, 19, from Crawley, was on a girls’ holiday in Malia, Crete, with four of her friends when they went to a party.

But after two hours Emily was sipping her third drink when she started feeling very unwell - falling asleep on the table at just 5.30pm and becoming very thirsty.

A few hours later, after going back to their hotel, Emily was struggling to breathe and falling in and out of consciousness and was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Emily Earle in the ambulance on the way to hospital (Image: Emily Earle / SWNS)

She said doctors confirmed she had swallowed drugs and she thinks a fellow party-goer must have slipped something into one of her drinks.

Her worried mother had to fly out to the resort and bring her back to Crawley.

Emily, a medical student at King's College London, said: "This was a horrible experience which was really traumatic for me, my family and my friends.

"I nearly lost my life.

"I was wary of the heat and the party was extremely busy so I didn't drink much.

"I knew something was very wrong because I suddenly felt very out of it and couldn't remember things.

"It's very scary. You feel like you've got no control.”

Emily and her friends flew to Greece on June 23.

They were on the Malia strip on Wednesday, June 26, when they bought tickets for a party.

At the event, Emily said she had a Malibu and Coke and a sex on the beach cocktail before starting a vodka and pineapple.

She felt really drunk suddenly and began falling asleep.

Emily Earle began falling asleep at 5.30pm (Image: Emily Earle / SWNS)

She said: "I just couldn't understand it - none of my drinks had been strong."

Emily's friends got her some food but she was still ravenous and very thirsty.

Her friends took her back to the hotel around 7.30pm.

Despite their vigilance she wandered off searching for a toilet while they waited for a taxi.

They found her within a couple of minutes in a hotel room with a group of boys.

Back at their hotel they put her to bed and her condition deteriorated fast.

Emily's hands and feet were cold to touch and her skin was red and blotchy. Her breathing was shallow and rapid and she couldn't feel her legs or open her eyes.

Hotel staff called an ambulance.

READ MORE: Student left 'unconscious' as figures reveal extent of drink spiking in the city

Emily Earle, 19, from Crawley, is a medical student at King's College London (Image: Emily Earle / SWNS)

She was taken to Herculanium University Hospital at around 9pm, where she was put on a drip.

She woke the following morning feeling well and was told there were drugs found in her stomach, but medics could not say which drugs without a full toxicology report which needed to be requested by the police.

Her frightened friends had video-called Emily’s family to tell her what had happened and her mother arrived at the resort in the early afternoon. The group flew back to the UK on Sunday, June 30.

Emily said: "I really have no idea how it happened - we were so careful.

"We are very sensible and we did everything as a group. We were together all the time.

"I'm very aware of the risks and very cautious.

"A boy bought me a drink when we arrived and I didn't touch it.

"If I had to put a drink down for any reason I didn't go back to it.

"I had my hand over the top of my drinks when I wasn't drinking it and I even took my drinks to the toilet with me.

"I can only imagine someone nudged me and someone else slipped something in while I was distracted - the party was really crowded.

"Everyone was searched on the way in, but if someone wants to bring in drugs they'll find a way.

"The most frightening part for me is the motive of whoever did this - was it just for a laugh or because they wanted me to go back to their hotel room?"

Emily Earle in the hotel room before going to hospital (Image: Emily Earle / SWNS)

The language barrier meant Emily wasn't able to get much information about her hospital stay, and put her off reporting the incident to the police.

She said: "We can't prevent things like this from happening, but you can take steps to lessen the damage if it does happen to you or one of your friends.

"You can't be too careful.

"It's really important to stick with your friends.

"My friends did a great job - we were all really careful but it still happened and has affected all of us."