Ingrid Bolam, 77, believes her drink was spiked in York

Ingrid Bolam, who has lived in Acomb for 10 years, believes that her drink was spiked as she paid at the bar in a city centre venue in York.

She said she "blacked out" for three hours of the night, during which she was injured as she fell down some stairs.

Ingrid, who moved to England from Germany more than 50 years ago, said: "It has made me so angry. I could have broken my neck, been paralysed or even died.

"I looked like I had been in a serious car crash.

"It really is sad. My head injuries are causing me constant pain, so does the broken collarbone."

Ingrid was taken to hospital, where she stayed for seven hours until she was well enough to be sent home.

Ingrid suffered injuries as she fell down some stairs after her drink was allegedly spiked (Image: Supplied)

She later reported the incident to North Yorkshire Police officers after a sudden anger came over her.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "We received a report on October 2 from a woman in her 70s that her drink had been spiked in a city centre venue on August 25.

"She said she believed it occurred while she left it on the bar and turned away to pay.

"The woman subsequently fell down some stairs at another venue, suffering injuries including a broken collarbone."

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Ingrid is hoping to raise awareness of spiking to help protect others from similar incidents. She wants to make people aware that it can happen to elderly people as well as younger.

She said: "It's really dangerous. I didn't believe my own daughter when she told me my drink could be spiked before this happened to me.

"People need to be so careful. It seems to be becoming fashionable to spike someone's drink."

North Yorkshire Police recently issued an appeal and advice to help people to avoid spiking incidents.

A spokesperson for the police force said: "In recent years, there have been concerns about spiking incidents whereby someone’s drink has been tampered with drugs or alcohol or substances have been injected into an unsuspecting victim.

"Along with police forces across the country, we are continuing to focus on spiking with high visibility patrols in city and town centres and areas with a high-density, night-time venues."

The police force said both uniformed and plain-clothes officers are visiting pubs, bars and clubs and speaking to visitors and working closely with licensed premises staff.

Officers also carry out licence checks on taxis, bars and clubs, work closely with welfare organisations and help venues to step up their own security efforts such as increasing searches before entry.

"If you are injured or have symptoms you are worried about after being spiked, call NHS Direct on 111," the spokesperson added.