Thousands of people are set to boycott nightclubs for a “girls’ night in” protest amid a rise in reports of drink spiking and injections.

Women from university cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Bournemouth, Nottingham and Bristol will stay home on Wednesday to highlight the issue.

Hundreds of people have come forward in recent months to say they believe they have had their drink spiked or been injected with an unknown substance.

Sky News recently spoke to two women who said they had experienced black-outs and sickness after apparently being injected.

Nottingham student Sarah Buckle showed pictures of a bruise on her hand where she believes she was injected, and described “falling in and out of consciousness”.

Instagram accounts promoting the night-in campaign have notched up thousands of followers and there is a call for clubs to do more, such as imposing tougher checks on entry.

There have been 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in September and October in the UK, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), and 24 reports of injection.

In August, the parents of Millie Taplin, 18, shared video of her as she lay in hospital to show the effects of drinking an unknown substance after she was apparently spiked in an Essex nightclub.

They said she was left unable to speak or walk and with her eyes rolling.

Police in Brighton are also looking into six reports of women being injected during the last week.

Chief Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw said it was being taken “incredibly seriously” and urged any possible victims to inform police or bar staff as soon as possible.

Dale Garlick, 29, of Stalybridge, was also set to appear in court on Wednesday charged with rape after a woman said her drink had been spiked.

Police in Preston are also investigating after a woman was taken to hospital at the weekend and said she had been injected.

Officers in the Lancashire city were also called to a separate incident on Saturday after two women reported having their drinks spiked.

The women, one of whom was in her 20s and the other in her 30s, were taken to hospital but later discharged.

Following a surge in reported cases of injection spiking, a petition was set up by former Glasgow student Hannah Thomson to improve security at nightclubs.

It will now be considered by parliament after it passed 100,000 signatures in under six days.

One club, Chemistry in Canterbury, told Sky News it was closing voluntarily on Wednesday in solidarity with the campaign.

It said every year it spent “hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds on safety measures to support guest welfare and safety, counter-spiking and counter-harassment”.

The club added that it only has limited resources and that ultimately the campaign is best targeted at police and the justice system.

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