Reckitt Benckiser has warned that counterfeit 500ml bottles of Dettol are being supplied to a limited number of wholesalers and retailers in the UK.

Reckitt warned that using the fake Dettol could be harmful to consumers due to the presence of Methanol as a solvent, with the likely effects being skin irritation such as redness and dermatitis.

Initial enquiries indicate that there could be more than 30,000 bottles of the counterfeit Dettol in the hands of consumers.

The packaging and presentation is said to be nearly identical to the genuine Dettol product. And the liquid content of the bottle is superficially similar in colour.

But the counterfeit bottle either has no batch code or is poorly marked with a letter ‘V’ suffix and has a mould injection dimple on the bottom.