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Industrially, vats of genetically engineered E. coli act like living factories producing a variety of products from pharmaceuticals like insulin, vital for diabetes management, to various platform chemicals used to make fuels and solvents.

The room itself is about the size of a football pitch, and home to row after row of huge metal vats within which chemical reactions force the different rare earths apart.

“Well, you’d be hard to understand too if you drank two vats of coffee, two vats of wine and took 25 Vicodin a day.”

Growing cells in vats requires energy, as does producing the chemicals that are added.

Lydia, who paid £10,000 plus vat for tickets and accommodation for two via bank transfer, said she was "absolutely gutted".