(Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
A relaxing day at the spa turned to chaos after a pensioner accidentally unleashed pepper spray injuring 13 people.
The 80-year-old woman was in the entrance of Eugen-Keidel thermal spa in Freiburg, south west Germany, when she pulled out her pepper spray to show a friend.
But when the pensioner accidentally pressed down on the weapon, she let off the substance into the air.
The chemicals quickly spread through the spa’s ventilation system in the building.
As many as 13 guests to the thermal baths were injured as emergency services swarmed the leisure centre in large numbers, police said.
The elderly woman herself was also treated by paramedics, Bild newspaper reports.
She is also now being investigated by the police.
What is pepper spray?
The active ingredient in pepper spray is called oleoresin capsicum (OC).
It is a natural oil found in many hot peppers, including cayenne peppers and other chili peppers.
OC also contains capsaicin, a compound which is what makes things like hot pepper taste spicy.
Just one milligram of the odorless, flavourless compound can cause blisters to your skin.
In a pepper spray, OC oil is mixed with a water-based or oil-based solution.
It is then mixed with something to make it shoot out of the canister once it is pressurised inside.
Pepper spray is illegal to buy, sell or carry in the UK and is classed as an offensive weapon.
Police officers in the UK do use a similar substance called PAVA spray.
It is carried by most frontline officers and uses a synthetic version of capsaicin.
The spa had to be evacuated for 30 minutes, and the fire department had to mechanically ventilate the entrance area.
Guests were then allowed back into the thermal baths once the pepper spray was out of the air.
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