Ananova:

A Thai restaurant's spicy chilli sauce sparked fears of a chemical attack and led police to evacuate a busy London street.

Police closed off three roads and evacuated homes as a mysterious cloud of acrid smoke hovered over Soho for three hours, reports The Times.

As the ambulance service sent in its Hazardous Area Response Team Unit, firefighters wearing specialist breathing apparatus entered the deserted streets to seek out the source.

They broke down the door of the Thai Cottage restaurant - to emerge later carrying a huge cooking pot containing about 9lb of smouldering dried chillies.

Staff at the restaurant said they were surprised by the reaction of the emergency services.

Chef Chalemchai Tangjariyapoon said: "I was making a spicy dip with extra-hot chillies that are deliberately burnt.

"I can understand why people who weren't Thai would not know what it was. But it doesn't smell like chemicals. I'm a bit confused."

He was preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip served with prawn crackers, the paper said.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The street was closed off for three hours while we were trying to discover the source of the odour."