A man has described being covered in mysterious “black gunge” during his commute this morning.

Manor House Underground station was evacuated following reports of smoke filling the carriage of a Piccadilly line tube train.

But London Fire Brigade said when they arrived at 8.28am they “found nothing”.

London Underground have since released a statement blaming a faulty train motor for the black substance.

Nick Blackford, of Wood Green, said things began to go wrong as the train travelled between Turnpike Lane and Manor House stations.

He said: “It wasn’t smoke, it was really strange. It poured in through the vents. I was a bit worried for a moment that it was some kind of chemical attack.

“I was reading a newspaper and the first thing I noticed was it being covered in spots of black. At first there were a few, then there was more and more of the stuff.

“I was just on my way to work, and suddenly I was completely covered in this black stuff. It’s everywhere, I’m completely covered in black. It’s in my hair, on my shoes and all over my clothes.

“People are quite nervous at the moment anyway, and quite a few people were really nervous at this.”

Charlie Teather, 21, also on the train, tweeted: “Teeny panic being stuck in tube tunnel while carriage fills with smoke, people screaming & choking.”

Google employee Matt Cooke, meanwhile, described his journey as “like being a contestant on Fun House with Pat Sharp”.

London Underground’s operations director Nigel Holness said the station was closed due to “reports of smoke on the westbound platform”.

He said: “London Underground staff worked quickly to identify the cause of the issue and found that the smoke was caused by a defective motor on the train which was then taken out of service.

“The London Fire Brigade, who were called as a precaution, gave the all clear at 9.40am.

“Customers and staff were not at any risk but we would like to apologise to customers for the disruption caused to their journeys this morning.”