A painful surprise was in store for shopper Peter Hill when he washed his hands and face in the toilets at Morrisons’ Strood supermarket.

He used an automatic hand washing machine, which dispenses soap, water and then hot air.

First, he washed his hands and splashed his face with what he thought was water, but immediately knew something was wrong when his face and eyes started to sting.

Staff had put bleach instead of soap into the soap dispenser.

Mr Hill, of Reedham Crescent, Cliffe Woods, visited the store on Sunday, August 31.

He said: “I knew there was something wrong straight away as soon as the liquid touched my face. I could smell what appeared to be bleach."

A member of the store’s maintenance staff went into the toilets to investigate.

Mr Hill said: “She came out and confirmed that instead of soap being put into the system, bleach had been used by mistake.

A spokesman for Morrisons said: “Customer care is always our top priority and we are investigating Mr Hill’s complaint.

“We have contacted him to say that we are looking into this and will keep him informed.”

* More on this story in Friday's print edition.