Barnet General Hospital in lockdown after woman 'exposed to unknown chemical walks into A&E'

A HOSPITAL was put on lockdown due to a "chemical incident" after a woman walked into A&E when she was exposed to an unknown substance.

The A&E department of Barnet General Hospital in North London had to be closed today after the woman reportedly walked in clutching a "broken container".

Police have since confirmed the hospital was shut as a precaution after a patient attended having come into contact with an irritant substance.

It is understood the department has re-opened after both the police and London Fire Brigade attended.

It comes amid heightened fears of chemical attacks after ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, Wilts.

One witness told the Mirror: "I'm in the waiting area. We are not being allowed to leave or move departments.

"The police have locked the Unit down someone came in with something she had broken open and they sent that person straight outside. Then locked the hospital down.

"They have just sent a doctor out to get a swab to find out what the women's been exposed to."

Another added: "I'm in the waiting area. We were not being allowed to leave or move departments.

"The police had locked the Unit down. Someone came in with something she had broken open and they sent that person straight outside. Then locked the hospital down."

Police said they were called at around 1.45pm today after the hospital was closed.

A spokesman said: "Police were made aware at around 1.45pm on Friday, March 30, that the Accident and Emergency unit at Barnet Hospital had been closed as a precaution after a patient attended having come into contact with an irritant substance.

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"The patient is believed to have come into contact with the substance elsewhere. Not on hospital grounds.

"Police and London Fire Brigade are on scene."

In Hertfordshire today, South Mimms Service Station was closed following a chemical spill in the car park.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hertfordshire Constabulary were called, it is not yet known if the two incidents, which are two miles apart, are related.

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