Colin the Caterpillar gets Scottish chippy treatment

Britain's most famous birthday cake has been given the full Scottish chippy treatment.

The concept of the deep fried chocolate bar was taken to a new level when a full Colin the Caterpillar cake was battered and dropped into the deep fat fryer in a Lanarkshire chip shop.

The deep-fried Colin stunned customers on Friday as he posed on the hot plate.

The culinary experiment follows a legal row between M&S and Aldi over use of the caterpillar cake idea.

Ricky Brandon, who owns Emanuel's chip shop in East Kilbride was asked to batter the cake by local food delivery app East Kilbride Eats after the cake hit the headlines.

He said he had fried a few Mars bars in his time, several creme eggs and the odd Twix. But never a caterpillar.

The process became heated when he realised he would need an extra-thick batter to hold the body together.

Colin emerged from the deep fat fryer not as a butterfly but as a crispy chocolate log.

Mr Brandon told BBC Scotland: "For my first attempt, I am not dissatisfied.

"The customers who came in and saw it were surprised, saying 'What is that?'."

Controversially, he said: "I think Cuthbert might fry a little better."

A row broke out last month when Marks & Spencer launched legal action against Aldi, arguing the supermarket's Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake infringed its Colin the Caterpillar trademark.

M&S claimed that their similarity led consumers to believe they were of the same standard and that the Aldi cake "rides on the coat-tails" of M&S's reputation.

It lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court.

The news prompted taste tests across the country, and social media was awash with "free Cuthbert" memes.

A Twitter exchange between the two supermarket brands followed.

Aldi, who had stopped selling the cake in February, announced a limited edition version of Cuthbert to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.

M&S said it loved a charity idea, but Aldi should use its own character.

Unveiling the idea on social media, Aldi said: "Let's raise money for charity, not lawyers."

M&S replied that a cake based on Aldi's Kevin the Carrot commercials would be better, adding: "That idea's on us.".