A ROAD and car park were closed today after an unidentified white powder was found spread over the ground.

Guests of the Rose and Crown Hotel in Tonbridge called emergency services after spotting the white powder in the hotel car park this morning, fearing it may be dangerous.

About 25 firefighters attended the scene, and the car park was closed for two hours as the substance was identified.

Management at the hotel tracked the source of the powder and it was confirmed to be zirconium oxide, a non-harmful substance used in dyes and ceramics.

A spokesman at Kent Fire and Rescue said: "The company which supplies zirconium oxide confirmed that although it can cause irritation to the lungs when breathed in, it is not harmful.

"We always send a large number of crews to any chemical incident because it takes a while to distinguish the nature of the material.

"If it was dangerous we would need to have trained crews at the scene to deal with the situation effectively so not to put the public at risk."