Inserting Special Characters Into Database

[eluser]asciiCode[/eluser]
I have the database set as utf-8 and the code igniter config set to utf-8

However, when I go to insert this example data in to the database "aaaaöbbbb"

The aaaa is added to the database but the öbbbb is left off and lost.

What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it?

Thanks.