When catering a prestigious event, any waiter may fear clumsily dropping a plate or spilling a drink on an eminent guest.

Few will suffer the indignity of accidentally knocking a thumb off a priceless Roman statue with their head.

The British Museum has admitted to an “unfortunate incident” which saw the thumb of the famous Townley Venus knocked clean off by a member of catering staff.

The caterer, who worked for an external company not regularly used by the Museum, had bent down underneath it and bumped into the marble as they got up again.

A spokesman for the museum said it had taken the incident “seriously”, with the sculpture “fully restored” quietly by conservators.