THE SUN wasn’t the only thing turning up the heat as thousands flocked to Eastleigh on Saturday for the return of the popular Chilli festival.

Attendees at the annual festival were treated to a range of spicy delights including chilli sauce, chilli ice cream and chilli cocktails at the free festival at Leigh Road Recreation Ground yesterday.

Chilli producers from across the country descended on the town centre for the fifth year in a row, providing residents with the chance to taste chilli of all varieties from the humble jalapeno to eye-wateringly potent Dorset Naga.

Unfortunately the annual chilli-eating competition had to be cancelled as organisers forgot to bring the legal waivers for competitors to sign before taking part in the gruelling competition.

Organiser Alexander Mustang said: “I don’t want to risk it. The contests can be quite gruesome to say the least.

“Most contests start with a low end chilli and go from there, ours start with a Naga and other high end chillies and go from there. It’s brutal.

“I have all the chilli’s and a fridge full of milk, but without the disclaimers we can’t do it.”

Despite the cancellation of the contest though, Mr Mustang said that the day was going well, and that the turnout had been bigger than expected given the heat and the competition from the World Cup.

He said: “We always have a great turn out in Eastleigh and it is getting bigger each year.

“We want to support chilli producers, it is important to do that to keep them going and it’s great to give residents the chance to taste different types of chilli they won’t find in super-markets.”

Mr Mustang promised the festival would be back, complete with the chilli-eating competition in 2019.