Eurostar has recorded a near-30% increase in bookings for travel from London St Pancras to France during the Rugby World Cup compared with the same period last year.

The cross-Channel train operator said it expects up to 600,000 people to use its services from London St Pancras to Paris or Lille during the seven-week tournament, which begins on Friday.

It has added about 50 additional services in response to the spike in demand, with the number of daily trains reaching up to 17 to Paris and seven to Lille.

More than 50,000 specially-designed desserts in the shape of rugby balls will be served to passengers with standard premier and business premier tickets on the London-Paris route.

They are a vanilla panna cotta with a hint of raspberry and a layered chocolate ganache.