'This was no hangover, we had been spiked'

One minute Sara and Stephen Ridgewell were having fun at a party, the next they were in a hotel room with no recollection why...

- INTERVIEW BY ALI GRAVES

The atmosphere on the minibus was electric as Stephen and Sara Ridgewell headed out for an ex-colleague’s engagement party. Little did they know their evening off from parenting duties would quickly turn into the night from hell.

The couple, who have been married for 19 years, left their son Sid, who was four at the time, in the safe hands of Sara’s sister Katy Hood, 30.

They headed to nearby Chelmsford - only half-an-hour from their home - for an evening of drinks, dancing and celebration.

But in less than two hours, their night took a terrifying turn.

“We had a can of gin and tonic on the minibus, as you do, then we arrived at the venue,” says Sara, an events florist.

Stephen, a maintenance engineer, adds: “I bought Sara a bottle of prosecco and I had a couple of pints. The only drink we shared was when I had a glass from her bottle.”

Sara says they weren't even planning to drink much when they went out on that night back in February 2023. “We had a four-year-old at home - it’s never worth it the next day,” she explains.

FLASHBACKS

But the pair believe their drinks were spiked and hours later they found themselves lying in an unfamiliar hotel room - with no recollection of how they got there and no memory of their night out.

Sara, 43, and Stephen, 46, say they didn't share drinks with anyone else at the party and although there were some faces they didn't recognise there, for the most part they were surrounded by friends and they didn't feel uncomfortable.