A man who was trying to helpfully clean a pub toilet in Ashtead accidentally created a mixture which has been previously used in chemical warfare.

The man poured bleach and descaler into a toilet in the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower in The Street, Ashtead, creating poisonous chlorine gas, which was used in WW1.

Epsom fire fighters attended the incident yesterday at 3.30pm, where they evacuated the pub and used a Positive Pressure Ventilator to remove the fumes.

Crew manager Jon Bennett said: “He thought he was doing the right thing pouring the bleach and descaler in the toilet.

“If he had stayed in there we would have been carrying him out rather than him stumbling out.”

London Ambulance Service attended, but the man is not believed to have suffered from the incident.