'I was needle spiked in a nightclub on my first holiday with friends'

Taylor Coulter was returning from the toilets in Magaluf's famous Bananas nightclub when a stranger bumped into her on the stairs.

"I felt a sharp shooting pain in my arm. He was very apologetic - more apologetic than he had to be. Then I felt a liquid run through my whole body."

The 18-year-old, from Port Glasgow in Inverclyde, had just 20 seconds to get help before she was incapacitated by the drug she had been "spiked" with using a needle.

"It just kind of took over me," she recalls.

Taylor was lucky. Her friends were nearby and she managed to reach them in time.

Her best friend helped her to the toilet where she was sick, then the group of Scottish teenagers carried her back to her hotel.

The drug has wiped much of Taylor's memory of what happened after the attack, which took place in the Mallorcan resort on 21 June, but her friends have helped fill in the blanks.

"They were on the phone to my mum and dad, and their mums and dads who were finding out the best advice which was a cold water shock shower.

"Other friends were on the phone to doctors, the hospital, things like that."

At the hospital, blood tests revealed she had been injected with gamma-hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB, as well as an anti-depressant drug.

GHB is a powerful sedative that causes extreme sleepiness and loss of inhibitions - and it erases the memory of what has happened under its influence.

It is notorious as a date rape drug.

Whilst the GHB would eventually work its way out of her system, doctors were worried about the potential for blood infections from the needle.

Taylor, who is a rising football star, is now on anti-viral medications to protect against HIV or hepatitis - but these drugs have themselves taken their toll.

Nearly three weeks on from her ordeal in Magaluf, the treatment has left her struggling to walk any great distance and unable to train with her current team, Greenock Morton Women FC.

"It's had a massive impact on things that were easy for me like running and cycling. I'm just so tired when I try and do any sort of exercise," said Taylor.

The side-effects are a double blow for Taylor who is due to move to America next month to take up a football scholarship at Louisiana State University.

The trip to the Spanish resort was Taylor's first holiday abroad without her parents, an all-girl rite of passage celebration with 16 friends after leaving secondary school.

"My parents weren't going to let me go on holiday originally. I begged them to let me as it was the last few weeks to spend time with my friends before I move away."

Taylor was finally given permission to book her flights just days before the rest of the group were due to travel.

During the first few days, the pubs and clubs in Magaluf felt safe, Taylor recalled.

The friends made a conscious effort to stay together and monitor each other's drinks but she said they were "unaware" some spiking incidents involve needles.

"I never really thought it would happen to me and when it did, I was very surprised at how fast it takes over," she said.

For Taylor, who was sober on the night of her attack, large parts of that night remain a blur, but she is "thankful" to her friends who helped keep her safe.

"I think that's the true meaning of friendship. If they weren't there, I would dread to think what could have happened."

The Bananas Club has been contacted for comment about the incident.

Taylor's parents described how they were woken by a call from her best friend in the early hours of the morning.

"You're always on edge when your kids are on holiday and when I saw the name flash up on the screen, we knew straight away something was wrong," recalled her dad Stuart.

They asked to see Taylor on video call. She was unresponsive and "just making noises".

Stuart has nothing but praise for the way her friends took care of his daughter.

"They took control of the situation - really switched on, really good," he said.

"What they've done is basically saved Taylor because she was in no fit state to do anything for herself. I've got a big thanks for her friends."

Taylor is still hopeful of returning to full fitness but she says the incident has knocked her confidence.

"It's affected me massively, because I was preparing for pre-season in America and now, I can hardly walk anymore."

She now suffers from nightmares and "flashbacks" which are affecting her sleep.

"I can't understand why anyone would do that, what's the point," she said.

Taylor has shared her story as a warning to others who may be going out on group holidays this summer.

Her advice is: "Stay with your pals, don't go anywhere by yourself."

The experience has left her shaken, constantly "on edge" and "looking over my shoulder" but her footballing drive is as strong as ever.

She hopes one day to play for Scotland in the Women's World Cup and, despite the setback, she is looking forward to her scholarship in the USA.

"That's been my dream since I was 11 - to make it pro and be an inspiration to people, like younger players."