The team representing the UK in the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie - the World Pastry Cup - has placed sixth in the competition, despite their ice sculpture breaking in half.

Team Italy took home the gold, with Japan in silver and the USA clinching bronze.

The result is the best ranking the UK team has achieved so far, and they will automatically qualify for Coupe Du Monde de la Patisserie at Lyon in 2017.

The group, coached by UK pastry team president Martin Chiffers, was made up of Barry Johnson (Rococo Chocolate), Andrew Blas (Café Royal) and Javier Mercado (Le Cordon Bleu).

Team captain Barry Johnson said: “We’re all ecstatic at this result. With all the challenges we faced during the day, we really hadn’t had any major expectations. This result has made all the pain worthwhile, and I’d like to thank my team-mates Jose, Andrew and Martin for such amazing support.”

Chiffers said: “This placement is a huge credit to the team, and I’d like to thank all the sponsors, especially Valrhona, for their support. Tonight we’ll be toasting our achievement, but we’ll start recruiting for the new team with the British Pastry Open in October.”

The team’s theme for their entries was inspired by theatre and, in particular, the musical The Lion King