A Canterbury takeaway has defended itself after a customer kicked up a fuss by whipping out a tape measure to inspect the size of a 15' pizza.

Unhappy after realising the purchase from Westgate Pizza was two inches shy of its advertised diameter, the diner took to social media to voice their disappointment.

The post - which has gone viral after being shared by the LADbible - has come in for ridicule for its "pettiness", while others joked Trading Standards should be notified.

Workers at Westgate Pizza, who say the widely-shared post is "horrible to see", argue that pizzas shrink slightly when cooked.

They have defended the size of their produce, and stressed how a full refund was offered to the disgruntled customer.

The post was published on Monday evening on the Canterbury Residents' Group Facebook page by Coral Heath.

She wrote: "We ordered a 15in pizza from Westgate Pizza and received a 13in and was called liars [sic] and said it was 15 because that’s what the box says, then hung up on us.

"I honestly don’t care what the box says I ordered a 15 so I expect 15."

"When you cook, the pizza size shrinks - that happens everywhere..."

The post sparked a number of jibes from commenters before being shared by the LADbible Twitter account to its 3.3 million followers.

Speaking to KentOnline, Mujeeb Hootek, who has worked at the North Lane takeaway for six years, defended his business.

He said: "We've never had any issues like this and we do between 150 and 200 deliveries a day.

"Nobody ever complains.

"When you cook, the pizza size shrinks - that happens everywhere. It was made in a 15' pan.

"It was stuffed crust as well, so that makes the width a little smaller too.

"We offered a refund, which they took, and we apologised. We also offered them to come in and see our pans and how we work.

"They'd see that we do not have a '13 pan.

"We have seven, 10, 12, 15 and 18 inch - we do not sell 13 inch pizzas. It's horrible to see the post and have a complaint as we do our best to make every customer happy.

"I don't understand it as the customer has used us before. We've never had any issues."