Seven members of the same family were taken to hospital after being exposed to chemical fumes at their swimming pool.

The incident happened at about 3pm today at Plumstead Pool, on Low Road, in Great Plumstead, near Norwich.

Dariush Fassihi, who owns the pool, which members of the public can hire out, said he was mixing chemicals for the pool, but because the filter was on bypass, they were being mixed in a small amount of water, rather than in the whole pool.

The ambulance service sent its hazardous area response team, while the fire service dispatched its environmental protection unit, as well as firefighters from Carrow, Earlham and Wroxham.

Mr Fassihi said he and the three other adults, and three children, were coughing, and were taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where they were kept for four hours as a precaution, but added that everyone was 'fine'.

He said the fire crews found there was an 'undetectable' level of the chemical, but he would take a cautious approach, and get a second opinion on Monday before re-opening the pool.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: 'There was a report of four adults and three children who had been exposed to chemical fumes. They were all conscious and breathing, but they were coughing.'