A 71-year-old Italian gentleman and teetotaller thought he was doing a good deed when he decided to open up the celebratory bottle of spumante at Milan’s council offices for Christmas. On opening, the cork shot out of the bottle and went straight through an 18th-century Italian oil painting hanging on the wall, leaving behind it a hole the size of a bullet.

The gentleman in question, who later admitted that he was not used to opening wine bottles, subsequently offered to pay for the damage, estimated at €1,000, if his insurance claim failed. He then told La Stampa newspaper in an interview that he was due to retire soon himself, but at his leaving party, he would definitely be asking someone else to open the bottle.