World's hottest chilli hails from UK

London: A chilli pepper grown in a polytunnel in Dorset has been claimed as the world's hottest.

The Dorset Naga is so fiery that when the owners break the skin to remove the seeds to sow for the following year's crop they have to wear gloves and be outside in a strong wind so their eyes don't sting.

"It is something I wouldn't eat but some people must like them,'' said Joy Michaud, who developed the chilli at the Peppers by Post business she runs with her husband Michael at West Bexington.

An American laboratory found the chilli to be almost 60 per cent hotter than the one listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

The Naga registered a Scoville heat unit of 876,000. The record holder is a Red Savina Habanero with a rating of 577,000. A second test at a laboratory in New York recorded 970,000 heat units.

The Naga, which is sold with a health warning, has been developed from a variety which originated in Bangladesh.

The Michauds found the chillis, collected the seed and grew them into plants. It was only when customers told them they were unable to eat curries containing half a small chilli pepper they realised how hot they were.