The Darkness' Justin Hawkins rushed to hospital with chemical burns

Singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to hospital after his shorts melted onto his skin in a freak accident involving swimming pool chemicals.

The Darkness frontman got covered in a toxic substance as he attempted to fix the pool at his home in Switzerland.

Hawkins, 45, sought emergency treatment after the accident and opened up about the disaster in a post on celebrity message service Cameo.

He was reported to have said: "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. 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."

Pool chemicals, including chlorine and muriatic acid, can cause burns and respiratory problems if they are improperly handled.