A street in Germany has been covered in chocolate following a leak from a factory.

The unusual incident happened in the town of Westönnen, near Werl on Monday evening.

Officials said a chocolate tank inside the DreiMeister factory had overflown.

Firefighters were called to the scene to find that around a tonne of liquid chocolate had leaked and solidified on the street.

It resulted in what was described as a "ten-square-meter choco-pancake".

Since the chocolate posed a traffic hazard, firefighters had to get shovels and break the hardened sugary mass apart.

A specialist company was then called in to help clean the street.

In a statement, local firefighters said: "Despite the heartbreaking incident, it is unlikely that a chocolate-free Christmas is imminent."

BBC reports that the factory was expected to return to normal operations on Wednesday.