Aldi have taken a hilarious swipe at supermarket rival Marks and Spencer in response to the ongoing Colin the Caterpillar row.

M&S has started legal proceedings against supermarket rival, Aldi, taking issue with the budget chain’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar.

The move comes from the British retailer in an attempt to protect its Colin the Caterpillar cake claiming that Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar product infringes its trademark.

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M&S, which lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court this week, is arguing that the similarity of Aldi’s product leads consumers to believe they are of the same standard and “ride on the coat-tails” of M&S’s reputation with the product.

M&S wants Aldi to remove the product from sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.

Reading Chronicle: Colin the Caterpillar. (M&S)Colin the Caterpillar. (M&S)

The legal move has been mocked on social media with users pointing out that all major supermarkets have their own version of the chocolate cake.

The cake is a sponge with milk chocolate and buttercream, topped with chocolate sweets and a smiling white chocolate face.

M&S has three trademarks relating to Colin, which the retailer believes means Colin has acquired and retains an enhanced distinctive character and reputation.

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A spokesman for M&S said: “Because we know the M&S brand is special to our customers and they expect only the very best from us, love and care goes into every M&S product on our shelves.

“So we want to protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value.”

But it seems Aldi have seen the funny side of the case, mocking Marks and Spencer’s famous marketing line.

Tweeting from the official Twitter account, Aldi said: “This is not just any court case, this is… #FreeCuthbert”

The tweet has amassed more than 20,000 likes with customers jumping to Aldi’s defence.

“What’s the fuss about? Caterpillar cakes are a thing everywhere,” said one user.

Another joked: “What next? Maybe Marks and Spencer will claim they copied milk.”

However, some jumped to the defence of Marks and Spencer.

One Twitter user wrote: “Time someone stood up to blatant rip offs.

“We don't accept this of replica fashion or perfume or sportswear or any other industry, blatant copying piggybacking on others investment and creativity.”

M&S launched Colin the Caterpillar around 30 years ago and his appearance has been substantially unchanged since around 2004, except for adaptations for events such as Halloween and Christmas, and related products such as Connie the Caterpillar.

The product is central to M&S’s partnership with cancer charity Macmillan, and the retailer has created a Colin product for the annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning fundraising event.