Cadbury has decided to stop producing chocolate coins, prompting some distraught fans to declare that Christmas should be cancelled as a result.

A spokesman for the now US-owned company said that wrapping gold foil around a circular piece of chocolate was "fiddly" and that it was purely a commercial decision.

"We are sorry to see the coins go, but that's business," the spokesman told the Daily Telegraph.

Shoppers have switched to cheaper versions sold by the likes of Aldi and Lidl in recent years, hitting Cadbury's sales.

Observer restaurant critic and novelist Jay Rayner tweeted:

Harry Wallop, a Daily Telegraph journalist and sometime television presenter, said on Twitter: "I know others make decent chocolate coins. But yet again Mondelez [owner of Cadbury] has failed to understand us Brits. We want @CadburyUK coins at Christmas!"

He also had some advice for consumers seeking an alternative to Cadbury:

Ane-petition has already been started in a bid to reverse Cadbury's decision. It has been signed by one person.