A TV chef cooked up some hasty explanations to his friends, after his three-year-old son went on a social networking rampage.

Kenny Atkinson, head chef at the five-star Rockliffe Hall Hotel, in Hurworth, near Darlington, woke on Wednesday (April 3) to find his young son, Aidan, had got hold of his iPhone and used it to send bizarre text and Twitter messages.

Aidan texted and tweeted random words, including ‘pig’ and ‘horse’ some of Mr Atkinson’s friends, prompting them to inquire whether the chef had been enjoying a tipple or two.

He explained: “My little boy had woken up in the night, at about 3am, so I’d put him in our bed, he’s just three-and-a-half.

“At some point in the night, he must have clambered out of bed and picked up the phone, I don’t know how he managed to get past the lock screen, but he did.

“When I woke up, at about 8.30am, there were all these tweets asking if I was on drugs, or having a nervous breakdown.

“I realised he had got into the phone and gone off on a texting and tweeting rampage.”

A series of texts and tweets from the chef soon set the record straight.

Mr Atkinson, who has appeared on cookery show Saturday Kitchen, quashed speculation of him leaving Rockliffe.

He said: “I am settled and not looking to move from Hurworth.

“Everything is going well, but you can never say never because you do not know what is around the corner.”