All hell has broken loose in a small Italian town after a coffee shop began charging customers who wanted their pastries cut in half.

The Patisserie Audrey café in the town of Oderzo, in the northern region of Veneto, has been making traditional cornetti and brioches for generations.

Known variously as a brioche or cornetto, and resembling an enormous croissant, the pastry is often filled with either Chantilly cream, pistachio or hazelnut spread, or apricot and mixed berries.

However, the croissant controversy began earlier this month when a visitor to the café said she had been charged extra after she asked for her pastry to be cut in half so she could share it with her mother.

The woman posted a picture of the receipt online showing that an extra €0.10 (£9p) charge had been add

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