A COCKTAIL of potentially lethal chemicals burned a cleaner after he poured a mixture of cleaning products into a sink.

Hazard teams were called to Ivy Lane in Oxford at 2.42pm yesterday to deal with the incident. 

A resident had attempted to clean the same drain with chemicals the night before.

The maintenance worker unwittingly added to the mix, causing noxious fumes to fill the kitchen.

He suffered breathing problems but managed to drive himself to hospital, according to ambulance crews.

Firefighters wearing gas suits entered the flat and identified three substances which had combined to produce deadly chlorine gas.

More crews were then sent in to remove the mixture before it was disposed of safely.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This incident serves as a timely reminder that all packaging on household products should be read before they are used.

“No mixing of chemicals, particularly bleaches and un-blockers, should ever take place as potentially toxic and corrosive mixtures can be created.”