diff --git a/sphinx_click/ext.py b/sphinx_click/ext.py
index f1ddd36..0aa15af 100644
--- a/sphinx_click/ext.py
+++ b/sphinx_click/ext.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import re
 import traceback
 import warnings
 
@@ -16,6 +17,8 @@
 NESTED_SHORT = 'short'
 NESTED_NONE = 'none'
 
+ANSI_ESC_SEQ_RE = re.compile(r'\x1B\[\d+(;\d+){0,2}m', flags=re.MULTILINE)
+
 
 def _indent(text, level=1):
     prefix = ' ' * (4 * level)
@@ -109,6 +112,8 @@ def _format_description(ctx):
     if not help_string:
         return
 
+    help_string = ANSI_ESC_SEQ_RE.sub('', help_string)
+
     bar_enabled = False
     for line in statemachine.string2lines(
         help_string, tab_width=4, convert_whitespace=True
diff --git a/tests/test_formatter.py b/tests/test_formatter.py
index 43496e8..7d32199 100644
--- a/tests/test_formatter.py
+++ b/tests/test_formatter.py
@@ -266,6 +266,38 @@ def hello(name):
             '\n'.join(output),
         )
 
+    def test_ansi_escape_sequences(self):
+        """Validate that ANSI escape sequences are stripped."""
+
+        @click.command()
+        def foobar():
+            """A sample command with **sparkles**.
+
+            We've got \033[31mred text\033[0m, \033[104mblue backgrounds\033[0m, a
+            dash of \033[1mbold\033[0m and even some \033[4munderlined words\033[0m.
+            """
+            pass
+
+        ctx = click.Context(foobar, info_name='foobar')
+        output = list(ext._format_command(ctx, nested='short'))
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            textwrap.dedent(
+                """
+        A sample command with **sparkles**.
+
+        We've got red text, blue backgrounds, a
+        dash of bold and even some underlined words.
+
+        .. program:: foobar
+        .. code-block:: shell
+
+            foobar [OPTIONS]
+        """
+            ).lstrip(),
+            '\n'.join(output),
+        )
+
 
 class GroupTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     """Validate basic ``click.Group`` instances."""