The Masked Singer’s Justin Hawkins rushed to hospital after a freak chemical accident saw his shorts melt into his skin

THE Masked Singer contestant Justin Hawkins had to be taken to hospital after a freak chemical accident saw his shorts melt into his skin.

The Darkness frontman, 45, was left in agony while attempting to fix the swimming pool at his home in Switzerland.

Justin revealed: “There was a problem with the pool, a pump thing and some chemicals came out of it. I think it was a PH negative chemical to control the acidity of the pool.”

Speaking on celebrity message service Cameo, he added: “I was trying to fix it and I touched my legs and my shorts melted onto my legs, so then I had to go to hospital.”

Unaddressed or large scale exposure to pool chemicals can result in burns and respiratory problems.

In the US, where home pools are common, there were more than 4,500 annual cases of pool chemical injuries requiring emergency treatment between 2008 and 2017.

Justin, who moved to Switzerland over five years ago, returned to UK earlier this year to compete as The Chameleon on The Masked Singer.

Despite being eliminated just three weeks into the ITV series, which was won by Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts, he caught the attention of judge Rita Ora in his skintight costume.

Justin only just made it back to his Swiss home, which he shares with his wife and daughter, before lockdown after travelling to the UK to promote the series.