Maidstone town centre cordoned off after a chemical spill

by Andy Gray

A woman has suffered burns after a super-strength toilet cleaner was spilled in a hardware store in Maidstone town centre today.

The woman, in her mid-20s, was shopping with her father at Robert Dyas when the bottle containing toxic chemicals smashed and splashed her legs.

Her father had dropped a 500ml bottle of Spirit of Salts at the store, in Gabriels Hill, which shattered and spilled at about 11am.

The liquid contains hydrochloric acid and is used as a super-strength toilet cleaner.

The woman was believed to have suffered minor burns and was taken to Maidstone Hospital as a precaution.

Robert Dyas staff used cat litter to try and soak up the liquid, but a vapour cloud led to fire crews being called.

Staff and about 15 neighbouring shops were evacuated as police installed a 100-yard exclusion zone around the store.

Two crews from Maidstone and a support unit from Sittingbourne were called to the scene.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus entered the building to clear up the spillage and a ventilation fan was used to blow fumes from the shop. There were no other injuries.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman confirmed there was little damage to the Robert Dyas store, which reopened at midday.

Chris Smith, fire commander at the scene, said: "We take incidents like this very seriously as members of the public as well as staff were in the vicinity.

"It was a very small incident but we were dealing with highly toxic fumes."