Kent celebrity baker Paul Hollywood has called for fans of The Great British Bake Off to simmer down after a contestant was kicked off the show amid a dessert disaster.

Iain Watters suffered a meltdown when his baked alaska was taken out of the freezer too early by fellow contestant Diana Beard, causing the ice cream to melt.

In his frustration, the bearded Irishman dumped the spoilt meringue mess in the bin - and was later dropped from the show.

But Iain's elimination caused a Twitter storm, with many accusing competitor Diana of sabotaging his efforts. The hashtags #JusticeforIain and #bingate soon followed.

As tempers flared, Paul - who lives in Wingham near Canterbury with his wife and son - tweeted: "I'm glad Mary's not on twitter this would upset her.. #enoughnow"

The nation watched, gripped, as the bakers were challenged to create show-stopping baked Alaskas made of cake, meringue and ice cream - on the hottest day of the year.

But tensions rose as Iain opened the freezer to find his dessert missing.

Behind him, his ice-cream was thawing on the side, and as he removed it from its tin, it collapsed in a soggy heap.

As co-host Sue Perkins tried to comfort Iain, he quipped, "I've got a serving suggestion" and dumped it in the bin - much to his fellow bakers' shock.

He fumed: "I threw it in the bin because I didn't want to present it. I don't want them to judge the way it came out so I'd rather present nothing. I'm gutted."

When asked by judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to present his pud, he was forced to bring it to them in the bin.

The pair then decide to eliminate him from the programme, with Mary describing his tantrum as "unacceptable".

After the show was aired, all appeared to be forgiven and forgotten as Iain tweeted: "Guys no hard feelings now. Diana is a top lady and all us tent bakers are greats pals. Can't wait to tune into the rest of the series."

Next week, the remaining contestants try their hand at making pies and tarts.