A PROTECTIVE mask and gloves had to be worn by grower Rawdon Wyatt as he harvested one of the world's hottest chillies.

Mr Wyatt, of Oxfordshire Chilli Garden in Eynsham, is collecting a variety of red hot treats from dozens of plants - including the Komodo Dragon.

The Komodo Dragon, named after the world's largest lizard, is 300 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.

While its relative, the jalapeno, scores between 3,000 and 7,000 on the Scoville Scale, used for measuring the heat of chillies, the Komodo Dragon is rated 1.4 million.

Other chillies Mr Wyatt will be picking during this year's harvest, which can span over a couple of months, include the Scotch bonnet, the habanero and the bird's eye.