And so to Rome for a clash of nations who have known angst in the shape of a French cockerel in this Six Nations.

Officers also seized three pit bulls and several fighting cockerels.

She later explained she had to "say a particular word, the abbreviation of cockerel, several times during a speech on the floor".

Items include 12 brass plaques, known as Benin Bronzes, a brass cockerel and a key to the king's palace.

"We recently accepted a group of dumped cockerels, for which we had no history on these abandoned animals," a spokesperson said.