The Telegraph’s Megan Levy on what happens when a cruel society tries to separate a man from his vacuum.

A building contractor claimed he was cleaning his underpants with Henry Hoover when he was found naked and on his knees in a hospital’s staff canteen.

A stunned security guard stumbled onto the man in the middle of a compromising act with the cleaner, which has a large smiley face painted on its front and a hose protruding from its “nose”.

The contractor was supposed to be locking up the building site near the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital where his firm is refurbishing administration offices.

The security guard, suitably horrified, told the man to “clean himself and the hoover” before asking him to leave and informing his bosses.

When later questioned by his employers, the man said he was vacuuming his underpants, which was “a common practice in Poland”. He has since been fired.

Henry Hoover is described on a cleaning website as “famous for its looks, but under its fascia lies a powerful, reliable vacuum cleaner ready to go time and time again.”

This seems a bit unfair. In Great Britain, such behavior results in termination and public ridicule. In the United States, it’s just a prelude to becoming the Florida Marlins’ team president.