Spicy food lovers came from far and wide to put their taste buds through a furnace at The Fiery Food Festival.

Hundreds attended the Old Steine event at the weekend as part of this year’s Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival. Those looking to set their palates alight were not disappointed.

Orphy McDonald, 18, from Church Road, Hove, gulped down milk after his experience.

He said: “I had something really hot and I recovered from that and I thought I’d go back and have some of Chilli Pepper Pete’s Dragon’s Blood.

“It was really tasty but I think I should’ve had a smaller dose.”

Co-organiser Pete Seymour, also known as Chilli Pepper Pete, whose company is based in Ovingdean, said: “Today is all about chillis and hot food It’s a celebration of all things hot, from the mildest to the hottest.

“This is the fourth year in Brighton.

It started off in the Marina but we outgrew that very quickly. This is the first time at this site so we were not quite sure what the reaction was going to be.”

Food suppliers were kept busy handing out samples from about 60 different stalls but unsurprisingly the bar and the café were probably the busiest.

A worker serving at Temple Coffee, said: “We’ve served plenty of water and milk and have had a few people come up with their tongues hanging out.”

For more information on the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival, which runs until September 29, visit www.brightonfoodfestival.co.uk.

Have you braved the Fiery Festival? Let us know below.