Trending: Only Farrow & Ball can do this to people

If ever there was a décor choice with which to keep up with the Joneses, then Farrow & Ball was it. The Dorset Paint company, with its pastel-ly hues and names such as "manor house gray" and "breakfast room green", have been seducing the aspiring middle-classes for decades.

And even if those neighbours might choose cheaper alternatives on the sly, it's the F&B colour charts they'll leave lying around.

But the company has caused a stir in the North-west, by insisting that the discounted tins it gives away as part of its Community RePaint scheme, only be sold to those who really are poor. The confusion started after the Tree of Life charity centre in Wythenshawe, Manchester, started offering tins for £5, instead of their usual price of up to £60, causing an influx of eager shoppers from nearby leafy suburbs.

A rival shop in Wilmslow, Cheshire, complained and the manufacturers intervened. So now any prospective purchasers have to provide a benefits book or proof that they are working for a charity.