Leftover jelly triggers German security alert

BERLIN, Oct 10 (Reuters) A small pile of leftover jelly discarded beside the road after a wedding party caused a large-scale security alert in Germany with biochemical experts, firemen and police called in to investigate.

''Passers-by called police after finding a pool of a flabby red, orange and green substance on the roadside,'' a police spokesman in the eastern town of Halle told Reuters yesterday.

Fears of toxic waste led to the closure of a wide area after the emergency call on Sunday, and experts wearing chemical warfare suits spent two hours examining the gelatinous substance before deciding that it was -- jelly.

''The fire brigade always has to assume a worst-case scenario,'' said a fire brigade spokesman. ''We conducted a variety of tests and figured out it was jelly.'' He said the newly wed groom, who was pulled out of bed at noon following a tipoff, confirmed that the jelly, known as Jell-O in the United States, was a party leftover -- and agreed to clean it up.

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