Five people fell victim to drink spikers in Prince of Wales Road this weekend.

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Police have confirmed that three different venues were targeted by the criminals.

Three of the incidents occurred in the early hours of Friday, October 22 with two more recorded in the early hours of Saturday, October 23.

Police also received reports of a spiking in the King Street area of Great Yarmouth in the early hours of Sunday October, 24.

It comes after increasing reports of the crime in Norwich with one student left unable to walk or stand.

Criminals are now also thought to be resorting to using needles on their victims.

And venues are already doing what they can to stamp out the spineless behaviour.

Last week Epic Studios joined city bar Cans 'N' Cocktails in introducing foil-lined plastic lids - called StopTopps - as a preventative measure against the action.

Norfolk police said officers are working with venues across the county, along with Late Night Norwich in the city, to ensure the night-time economy is a safe space for people to enjoy.

Chief Inspector Ed Brown, from Community Safety at Norfolk Police, said: “There has been an increase in people’s awareness of this type of incident in the past couple of weeks, and as a result we have seen an increase in reporting of spike related incidents.

"We are taking these reports extremely seriously and enquiries are ongoing.

“We understand this will cause concern and we are working with venues, as well as security staff, across the county to help keep people safe.

“We are expecting the night-time economy to be busier than usual this weekend with people celebrating Halloween and we will have officers patrolling key night-time areas to facilitate a safe place for people to go and enjoy themselves.

“However, it is important people are vigilant and look out for each other."

Symptoms of spiking include dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, memory loss, and feeling intoxicated despite the amount you've had to drink.