A young woman claims she was nearly killed by dodgy fake tan after she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties seconds after bronzing her legs.
Lucy Fowler, 25, fell ill moments after using St Tropez Instant Wash Off Face and Body Spray and needed oxygen treatment.
The telesales girl later discovered the spray – which she bought last month from a High Street shop – had been the subject of a product recall three years earlier.
Lucy is so shaken up by the shock health scare that she is now even too scared to spray deodorant – and won’t use St Tropez products again.
The stepmum-of-three said: “I was spraying the tan on my legs and arms, getting ready to go out. It was nice weather so I wanted to wear shorts and a t-shirt.
“Moments later I started feeling ill. My chest started to tighten and I thought maybe I had used too much.
“I was in the bathroom with the window open but my chest started getting really tight.
“I walked into my bedroom away from the fumes but it was really bad. It felt like my chest was being crushed and I couldn’t breathe.
“I could taste it all in my mouth and feel it in my lungs. It was horrible.
“I rang 101 and they sent an ambulance straight out.”
Paramedics rushed Lucy to Nottingham University Hospital where she was given oxygen while they investigated the cause.
Lucy told the doctors she blamed the £10 fake tan and when they contacted St Tropez to find out more about the product’s ingredients, they discovered that particular tanning spray had been recalled three years earlier.
A confidential safety recall was issued to retailers after women reported experiencing severe breathing problems after unintentionally inhaling the spray.
The product is no longer being produced or sold, but Lucy said she bought it in the past month from a high-street shop.
Lucy, of Brinsley, Nottingham, said: “They did lots of tests and took a chest x-ray. Then they came back and said they needed to keep me in.
“After finding out about the chemicals in the product, they said I was very lucky to be alive.
“I’m just so shocked. I’m really paranoid about using sprays now. It was so scary.
“I was constantly coughing and it was so painful. I was really ill for a few days afterwards and I had to take a few weeks off work.”
Lucy added that she spent four days straight in bed recovering from her terrifying ordeal and was poorly on her 25th birthday as a result.
She said: “I’m scared of using anything like fake tan again. I’m even frightened of using deodorant at the moment.
“I can’t believe that I almost died – that I was nearly killed by fan tan.
“I will never use St Tropez products again. I don’t ever want to go through anything like that again.”
She added that it is worrying the recalled product is still available.
St.Tropez has told customers that Lucy’s experience was an isolated incident and warned fake tan users not to buy the affected spray.
A St.Tropez spokesman said: “We were very concerned to hear about Lucy Fowler’s experience and have made contact with her to find out which product she used and ascertain her progress.
“We take the health and safety of our consumers very seriously, and we have begun an investigation to establish exactly how Lucy was able to purchase this product recently.”
