Sweat ran down foreheads and eyes bulged as pub customers chewed some of the world’s hottest chillis on Saturday.

Chef Carl Games cooked up three huge pans of chilli, each progressively hotter, for contestants in the annual Chilli-Off organised by David and Ania Barrone at the Rosebuck in Marlborough.

Onlookers were also invited to pay £1 to try small hot pots with all funds going to the Prospect Foundation. The event raised £200.

A sizeable crowd gathered outside a marquee at the London Road pub to watch six teams of men and women try to eat the bowls of chilli con carne conjured up by the chef with the aid of what is said to be the world’s hottest chilli, the Dorset Nagga provided by specialist growers Peppers by Post.

Round one involved each team of four having to eat a moderately hot chilli which they managed.

Contestants were given a pint of chilled Discovery beer by Fullers Brewery and a few had glasses of iced water lined up to cool the fire.

Some did not make it past round two and had to hand over unfinished bowls to team-mates.

The final round was a scorcher and even chilli addicts in the teams admitted the potent plates were as much as they could take.

Trevor Clarkson, 35, who headed a team from the Crown at Aldbourne, took part last year and after the first two rounds on Saturday, he said: “The chilli is not as hot as it was last year.”

But after his winning team – Darren Kirwan, Nikki Raper and Vanessa Wilson-Watson – had forced down the hottest bowls of chilli Mr Clarkson conceded: “The last round was as hot as last year’s and gave a really good burn.”

Mr Barrone tasted all three chillis but added: “I tried a spoonful of the hottest one but before I managed to swallow it gave me hiccups.”

After the last spoonfuls of the chilli had been consumed, glasses of full-fat milk were provided to help cool scorched palates.