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Thousands of people in Georgia were sent into panic when they saw a TV news report saying Russian tanks had invaded their capital and the president was dead.

But what they didn't know was that the show on Imedi TV was a fake, aimed to show how events might unfold if the president were killed.

In the report, a presenter told how president Mikheil Saakashvili had been killed and Russian tanks were rolling into the country.

This was illustrated with archive footage from the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia and clips of grief stricken members of the public.

Understandably, those who'd missed a brief 'this is fake' warning at the start of the show, were sent into panic - mobile phone networks were overwhelmed and many people started to flee major cities.

It was only when normal programming was resumed after the 30 minute show that people realised it was a simulation and began to calm down.

The host of a talkshow which followed the faux war report said they apologised for any panic, adding: "We just wanted to show what the worst day in Georgian history might look like."

Keep reading to see the fake news report.