Storm in a teacup
An eccentric tea shop owner is causing a stir by barring people who flout a strict set of rules.
David Daly warns customers they will be asked to leave his Brighton shop if they dunk their biscuits.
Other rules include not putting your elbows on the table, not insulting the Queen, never handling sugar cubes and not sipping from teaspoons, reports the Brighton Argus.
Customers have jokingly described Mr Daly as a Fascist and even set up a website and discussion forum.
One described Tea Cosy Rooms as "the scariest place ever" while another said she had witnessed ejections for "biscuit wetting".
Another customer said: "If you dare talk when the piano lady is performing you are out."
Banging a teaspoon against a cup and using a mobile phone is banned outright, as is talking "louder than two shakes of a tea cup".
Mr Daly says the menu and setting is based on high tea at the Ritz.
The 30-year-old says he is far from being a Fascist and is actually "very nice" in real life..
He said: "People have to obey the rules and if not they are asked to leave. It is the art of tea drinking - this is not going to Starbucks with a mug of coffee."
