An explosion near the O2 Arena which sparked bomb fears was staged by a convicted child abuser for a bizarre film stunt, it has been claimed.

Dozens of calls to 999 were made after a fireball blast at a construction yard across the river from the East London venue sent smoke billowing into the sky and was heard from miles away on Saturday.

People nearby said it sounded like a ‘bomb going off’ or an ‘earthquake’, and those looking from a distance could see vehicles and a shipping container on fire.

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A video shared on social media suggests sex offender Jacky Jhaj, 38, was heavily involved in the shoot.

He was jailed for four years for sexual activity with two 15-year-old girls he groomed while posing as a film producer.

The footage appears to show him completely naked walking in front of a lorry trailer bearing BBC branding and a prop police van, which suddenly explodes.

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It’s thought the fire got out of control, forcing the crew to call emergency services.

Jhaj had hired the crew under the name ‘Toby’, wearing a prosthetic ‘villain mask’ on set which concealed his identity, according to a MailOnline report.

One of the cast was said to have recognised him when he removed his mask, prompting the crew to pull out.

In addition to being pictured in media reports of his conviction, Jhaj has repeatedly made headlines since his release for staging bizarre scenes which put him in close contact with children.

In November last year, some 200 children and young women were reportedly hired to play fans at a fake film premiere in London’s Leicester Square where Jhaj appeared on a red carpet to greet them.

In April it emerged he was behind a £10,000 fake funeral at a west London church and used a well-known casting website to hire child actors to play some of the mourners.

Although the funeral was staged, it was held in the name of a real drowning victim and the presiding priest was led to believe it was real – only halting proceedings after realising it was being filmed mid-way through.