1,800 people have had to be evacuated from a food factory in Germany after a chemical leak. Acid and alkaline leaked from a tank at the Kraft factory in Hanover causing a cloud of poisonous gas to drift across the site and miles beyond.

700 firefighters were called in after workers accidentally poured 10,000 litres of nitric acid into a tank of sodium base liquor at the plant in the small town of Bad Fallingbostel near Hanover. Chemical experts then had to try and cool the tank down, as a jump in temperature could have caused the whole tank to blow up.

The fire department raised the red alert, evacuating nearby houses, schools and nurseries. The local authorities set up an exclusion zone of 500 metres around the factory, and more than 500 people were forced to stay in a local gym last night. No-one was injured.

Written and presented by Marverine Cole.