“BANG! And the dirt is gone!” claims Barry Scott as he hawks Cillit Bang in that slightly naff advert.
And while Cillit Bang might be good at wiping the scum off bathroom taps, is it any good at getting scum off the streets? Thought not – that’s why Flash is the cleaning detergent of choice for plucky pensioners June Cawkill and Norma Doherty, who used a bottle of the washing fluid to fend off an armed robber.
The pair were working at Millgate Service Station when a man threatened them with a knife and demanded money from the till.
“I’d been cleaning the shelves so I had the Flash with me,” said June. “I wasn’t really thinking what I was doing, but I hit him a few times with the bottle and he ran out the shop. It was all very amateurish. I don’t think he had given it much thought.”