Museum visitors break priceless clock

In an effort to show visitors why they should not touch the exhibits, the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia posted a video showing visitors accidentally smashing a priceless clock.

The video, titled 'Please Don't Touch!!!', was posted online by museum staff and shows a man and a woman repeatedly touching a wooden clock, causing it to fall to the ground.

See also: Ten of the world's weirdest museums

See also: These are the best museums in the world: Do you agree?

Following the incident the couple can be seen casually fleeing the scene, leaving the sculptural piece, made by artist James Borden, leaning against the wall in ruins.

The museum posted the shocking video on their Facebook page along with the caption: "This is why you shouldn't touch things in a museum. (Note: The clock is doing fine, but will need some TLC)."

Museum director, Noel Poirier, told Lancaster Online: "We cringe every time something like this happens."

He added: "He plays with the clock a lot before it falls. It was very dramatic."

"That's kind of why we posted the video. It probably happens every day at a museum somewhere. It's good to remind folks why we ask them not to touch."