THREE staff members were rushed to hospital following a chemical scare at Asda in Rawtenstall.

Two ambulances, a decontamination unit, a rapid response vehicle, and a fire crew were called to the St Mary's Way store shortly after 10.30am on Friday, after a female employee collapsed.

The woman, a greeter at the store, is believed to have collapsed after coming out of staff toilets on the ground floor, having been overcome by a mixture of chemicals, which triggered an asthma attack.

Shortly after paramedics were called, two other female employees - including an asthmatic - complained of feeling dizzy and having irritated eyes, and a second ambulance was called.

All three women were treated in the ambulance service's decontamination unit, before being taken to Fairfield General Hospital, Bury. The second two women were discharged, but the first woman was kept in overnight as a precaution.

Dave Pierce, principal environmental health officer at Rossendale Council, was called to the scene. He said: "The woman who collapsed is an asthmatic and, when examined by hospital staff, it became clear that she was also suffering from a chest infection.

"We are still not entirely sure what caused the reaction. The toilets had been cleaned at 9.30am, by employees from a sub-contracted company, and the first reaction happened about an hour later.

"We called for a county council chemical analyst and he took some samples which will be tested. We will be looking into what could have possibly caused the reactions, but there is no suspicion that there has been any procedural mistakes by the cleaners. The men's toilets had also been cleaned and there were no problems there."