Museum's plea after couple break crystal-covered chair

An Italian museum has called on patrons to "respect art" after a couple was filmed breaking a chair covered in hundreds of glittering crystals.

Footage released by the Palazzo Maffei, in Verona, shows a man and woman taking pictures of each other while pretending to sit on the so-called "Van Gogh" chair.

The man then appears to slip and fall onto the chair, crushing it underneath him.

Officials say the couple fled the museum before staff noticed what happened.

They have since notified police about the pair, who have not been identified.

"Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences," says museum director Vanessa Carlon.

"Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us - that isn't an accident," she adds. "This is a nightmare for any museum".