From cake to pizza: How to get the best birthday freebies (and why there's a catch)

"It's your birthday!" Cue the influx of emails offering you all sorts of freebies.

Sign up to the right apps and loyalty schemes and you could spend the day enjoying free cake, meals out, beauty treats and even cinema snacks.

Here are some of the things you can get on or around your birthday - and why they may not all be as free as they seem.

Most chain coffee shops and bakeries offer a birthday treat through their loyalty apps. You can get a free sweet treat, usually a cake, cookie, muffin or doughnut, from Greggs, Costa, Caffè Nero, Krispy Kreme, Gail's, Subway and Ole & Steen if you have registered your date of birth in advance.

Lidl Plus members can claim a free bakery doughnut within seven days of their birthday, while M&S Sparks members can choose two gifts on their birthday from a range of 15 which includes cookies and chocolates.

Hotel Chocolat gives members a £5 birthday reward with a minimum spend of £5.50 and Lindt offers a free box of truffles when you meet its minimum spend requirement.

Some fast-food chains offer a free birthday meal or snack - Burger King members can claim a free Whopper or Plant-Based Whopper, while Chopstix offers a free small noodle box.

However, most restaurant birthday offers are buy-one-get-one-free deals rather than completely free meals.