An Italian man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his former lover from a bar, taking her to his home and forcing her to iron his clothes and do his washing-up.

Police in Genoa said the 43-year-old man dragged the woman out of a city pub and shoved her into a car. When the pair arrived at his home, he threatened his former partner and made her do his chores.

The police eventually broke up the scene of enforced domestic bliss after being tipped off by a friend of the woman who had witnessed the abduction at the pub. The man, still furious at his partner for leaving him in the first place, was arrested for kidnapping.