POLICE attended to keep the peace when a huge crowd gathered to get a slice of the action at Papa John's big pizza giveaway.

Queues spilled out onto Wanstead High Street as throngs of hungry residents jostled for a free takeaway and the chance to meet a fast food legend.

Papa John himself, otherwise known as John Schnatter, came all the way from Kentucy USA to celebrate his brand's 25th birthday with a pit-stop tour of his British franchises.

Mr Schnatter, 47, became the youngest person ever to be inducted into the US Business Hall of Fame after selling his beloved Camaro car to set up the business in 1984.

And after trading from a broom cupboard in his home town, he is now the proud owner of the third largest pizza company in the world, with more than 3,400 stores in 30 countries.

Over 100 of the Italian treats were dished out by the multi-millionaire, who claims to be "the most successful self-made business man on the planet," along with a sprinkling of autographs and photos for his star-struck fans.

Mr Schnatter said: "I got through high school and college by making pizzas for other people so it's all I've ever known.

"My favourite is pepperoni but I've sampled some new pizzas here in Wanstead.

"You seem to be a bit ahead of us, using fresh basil and sliced mozzarella for the margaritas and I've never had a vege pizza before but I thought it was delicious.

"I'm from the school of thought that if you look after your customers and your people your business will take care of itself and the team over here do an exceptional job."

Raheel Choudhery, 32, who sells nearly one million pizzas a year from Wanstead and the nine other stores in his franchise, added: "It's been absolutely crazy today with the pizzas flying out of the oven.

"We've had to bring in about ten extra staff just to cope with the rush."

Pizza lover Jim Simmons, 17, said: "I think it's great as I'm a poor student living in the Tesco economy.

"My friend rung me up and asked me to get them one so I thought I'd get one for myself.

"I appreciate the help as in this credit crunch I can't afford pizza anymore."