A ‘colonic fumigation’ treatment could have killed a beauty spa’s customers in one of two recent carbon monoxide incidents in Wandsworth.

A woman running an African hair and beauty salon in Battersea was risking her life and the lives of her customers, as well as those living above the shop, by burning charcoal indoors as part of a spa treatment.

Wandsworth Times:

The warning signs on this were ignored

The charcoal was being burned in a metal container attached underneath a custom made chair being used to offer customers a type of ‘colonic fumigation’ sometimes referred to as ‘tush’ or ‘dhika’.

The alarm was raised when neighbours above the salon contacted the gas board because they could smell burning and were concerned of a possible gas leak.

Council staff tested the air in the salon and found CO levels five times higher than the safe limit.

In another incident a group of eastern European builders nearly gassed themselves and the people in flat above by using a petrol-powered disc cutter indoors.

Because they couldn’t speak English, the builders did not understand the warnings on the side of the power tool, thankfully an alarm in an upstairs flat averted tragedy.

Gas readings showed they had been working in conditions where CO levels five times higher than recognised safety levels and nearly twice the levels at which buildings must be evacuated.

In both cases had there not been intervention from the borough’s environmental health team those involved could have died.

Wandsworth’s community safety spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said: “Luckily these two serious incidents didn’t result in tragedy but it was a close call.

“Carbon monoxide is a silent and invisible killer and the only certain way to be sure you are not at risk of poisoning it is to get an alarm.”

These two incidents have sparked new warnings about the dangers of this lethal, odourless and colourless gas.