It was raining pink in Prittlewell after industrial paint containers burst and showered their colour for hundreds of yards.

Residents living near Prittlewell Station could have been forgiven for thinking they were wearing rose-tinted spectacles when they woke yesterday to find the paint scattered over their cars, garden furniture and windowsills.

One woman's white dog even took on a new look when the paint dyed its fluffy coat pink.

As a precaution, police threw a cordon around St Benet's Road, the worst affected area.

But the fire service soon discovered the powder was harmless industrial powdered dye from a nearby building site.

Assistant divisional officer Martyn Hodder said: "The powder became airborne overnight from the Kenway industrial estate after two barrels ruptured and settled in an area between the station and Victoria Avenue.

"Tests show there are no known health risks associated with the product, and there is no problem with washing clothes, cars or anything else.

"One resident from Hill Road called the fire station to say her white dog had started to turn pink when it had been out today and got covered in the dust."

Keeley White, landlady of the Railway in East Street, said she had first noticed the paint the night before, but had blamed her children for what she thought was a prank.

She said: "My mum went to use the bathroom and the toilet was covered in pink paint. I told my children off, as I thought they had been messing about and not owning up to it.

"Then I went to get one of my staff's cardigans which I had washed, and it had all pink on it too. In the morning, the van and the cars were covered in this pink stuff."

The pub was closed until the early afternoon as a precaution in case customers inhaled the dust inside.

But by 2pm, the cordon was taken down and the pub reopened.

Mr Hodder said: "It has covered a large area and there was a lot of anticipation as to what it was. I daresay the clean-up bill will be sent to the building site."

However, nobody at Oakwood, which is developing the old UK Flexible Packaging Site on behalf of Weston Homes, was available for comment.