A hazardous chemical spill sparked an emergency response after an accident at a dentist practice.
Firefighters from Gosforth station and a number of ambulance crews were called to the mydentist clinic at Kenton Park Shopping Centre in Newcastle on Wednesday afternoon.
The alarm was raised as hydrochloric acid had been spilled at the Kenton Road dentists at around 2.45pm.
An ambulance and four Hazardous Area Response Team vehicles were sent to the scene by the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) after a man and a woman inhaled the fumes from the toxic acid.
The pair were checked over but were not seriously harmed.
The firefighter crew used oxygen masks and were able to neutralise the corrosive substance using sand.
They were then able to carefully collect the acid container and disposed of it.
Firefighters left the scene at around 5pm.
A spokesperson for the NEAS said: "We were called at 3.06 yesterday afternoon to people inhaling fumes from a spillage of acid at a premises at a dentists at Kenton Park Shopping Centre.
"Two people were treated at the scene and discharged."
The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said the spillage had been "relatively minor" but crews were equipped to deal with emergencies involving chemicals, gases and biological agents.
The fire service is able to carry out mass decontamination and has specialist equipment for detecting hazardous materials.
