A science teacher sparked a huge emergency services response after experimenting with chemicals in a homemade lab.

Justin Scarlett had been in his kitchen working on samples collected by friends when he began feeling nauseous and called NHS Direct.

When asked by the operator if he had ingested anything, he said he had not, but had been working on rocks which he had checked for radioactivity and put in a solution.

Shortly afterwards, specialist fire officers, police and ambulance crews were scrambled to his address in Central Parade, Herne Bay, in response to what they later described as a “chemical incident”.

Mr Scarlett, 44, a former head of chemistry at St Anselm's School in Canterbury, said: “They asked if I had ingested anything and I said that before I touch anything I use a geiger counter on samples so there is no chance anything is radioactive.

“As soon as I said the word radioactive, before you could say plutonium, everyone was running round with their hands in the air. They think terrorism.”

Two fire engines, several police cars and an ambulance were dispatched shortly after midnight.

Once they had discovered the samples were safe, police poured them down the drain.

It emerged 6ft 7ins Mr Scarlett was suffering from delayed concussion after banging his head at work.

His friend Philip Brooks, of Herne Bay, was there when Mr Scarlett fell ill.

He said: “He was feeling quite sick and almost vomiting.

“He asked me to phone NHS Direct and we explained it to them.

“In their eyes, as soon as they heard it involved a chemical, it was a warning sign.

“That is why everyone came down. Everyone felt they had to be on the safe side.

“They didn’t know what was in the mixture. It was a clear liquid with grains of rocks in the bottom.

“He turned out to be fine.”