TESCO is selling 'Armageddon' chillies tipped to be the hottest peppers in the world.

The retailer is challenging customers to try this fiery pepper.

Armageddon chillies, grown in Britain, could soon be the hottest peppers in the world.

It is 400 times spicier than the jalapeño and boasts 1.3 million on the heat Scoville scale.

That falls just slightly short of the Carolina Reaper which has a score of 1.5 million.

It could soon overtake the American pepper because chillies get a more intense flavour when they’re grown in warmed weather.

Tesco buyer Nick Foulds told The Sun that it has a “wonderful fruity taste”.

Despite this, he urges anyone who uses it to only use “a few tiny slivers”.

The pepper is so hot that those who want to try it are urged to wear gloves when cooking.

The Armageddon is being grown by Salvatore Genovese, at his farm in Blunham, Bedfordshire.

Mr Salvatore, 47, said: “Sure, some like to show how tough they are by munching one of these super-hot chillies.

"But the key to the demand is more and more families in Britain are using them in cooking.”