“Shocking Encounter: Man’s Horrifying Discovery Inside Bag of Aldi-Bought Broccoli”
A man who visited a supermarket to purchase groceries returned home with an unexpected guest—a snake—only realizing its presence after the creature had become accustomed to his food.
In the preceding month, 63-year-old Neville Linton purchased a bag of broccoli from an Aldi outlet in Stourbridge, England. He promptly stored it in his fridge, intending to use it for a meal three days later.
But when he unwrapped the broccoli, however, the man immediately saw the unexpected guest. Continue scrolling to learn how the ordeal went down and don’t miss the talk we had about it with Dr. Steven J R Allain, aka The pop-punk Herpetologist.
A snake that was exploring a broccoli field somewhere in southwestern Europe got packed up and shipped to a British supermarket
Unaware of its presence, Neville Linton, 63, inadvertently picked up the reptile along with a bag of vegetables and brought it home.
Neville, employed in industrial cleaning, couldn’t believe his eyes.
“It was rather alarming. Snakes make me uneasy,” he remarked. “It’s fortunate I didn’t leave the broccoli unattended in the kitchen; otherwise, it could have been roaming freely in the house.”
“That would have posed a significant risk for us, given that we have two vulnerable individuals residing here.”
Upon realizing the creature wasn’t just a large caterpillar, he promptly reached out to his sister, Ann-Marie Tenkanemin, for assistance, who correctly identified it as a snake.
Together, they carefully contained it in a tub and returned to the Aldi store on Dudley Road, where Neville had purchased the produce.
“I initially thought she was teasing, but I stepped back when I noticed it slithering,” he recounted. “The store employee seemed quite rattled as well.”
Subsequently, the snake was transferred to a local zoo, where specialists confirmed it to be a young ladder snake.
However, herpetologist Dr. Steven J R Allain suspects it might be a viperine water snake.
The reptile was transported to Dudley Zoo, and its staff believe it to be a young ladder snake. However, Bored Panda got in touch with Dr. Steven J R Allain, and he tends to disagree.
“Having reviewed the [actual] photo of the snake in the broccoli, I am not sure the zoo identified the species correctly,” Allain told us. “To my expert eyes, the snake is, in fact, a viperine water snake (Natrix maura), which is a harmless fish-eating species found throughout southwestern Europe and northern Africa.”
Allain, a zoology graduate from Anglia Ruskin University, a Master’s graduate from Imperial College London, and a current Ph.D. student at the University of Kent, focuses on barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) population ecology and the effects of ophidiomycosis. He’s also interested in amphibian disease and population ecology.
“Seeing as a large portion of the food grown and imported into the United Kingdom comes from the Mediterranean region, it is no surprise to find a species from this area turning up in some vegetables likely grown there. In my opinion, the snake was likely moving through the field at the time, before being scooped up by agricultural equipment, then seeking refuge within the broccoli.”
The trip to the UK and then another one to Neville’s home took some time, but Allain said that these snakes are able to go a couple of months without food, and the chilling of the fridge would have helped keep its metabolism low, reducing the body’s energy demands.
“However, I can’t imagine it would have been comfortable,” he added. “Especially the rapid transition from the warm Mediterranean climate to a chiller, in order to keep the broccoli fresh.”
“Viperine water snakes are dangerous only if you’re a fish (or a frog). They do not bite humans as a defense mechanism (they’d much rather play dead), and they are regarded as non-venomous to humans.”
“I know this must have been a distressing time for Neville (especially for someone with a fear of snakes), but his reaction could have been more positive through more widespread education and understanding of snakes, and how to deal with situations like this,” Allain said. “It isn’t the snake’s fault that it ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but hopefully its new home at Dudley Zoo can help with breaking down these fears of snakes.”
Neville is seeking compensation for enduring all of this turmoil.
Neville has been offered compensation but is seeking additional compensation.
The father-of-three expressed dissatisfaction with the amount offered, citing concerns about the risk posed to his disabled son and vulnerable mother-in-law, both residing under the same roof.
“It’s simply inadequate,” he remarked. “The potential consequences for us, especially considering my disabled son and elderly mother-in-law, are significant. Moreover, I suffer from a severe snake phobia, amplifying the emotional toll of this incident.”
An Aldi spokesperson stated, “Our supplier has never received a complaint of this nature and maintains stringent processes to prevent such occurrences.”
“We are currently investigating this isolated incident and have extended our apologies to Mr. Linton for falling short of our usual high standards.”
Following the coverage by local news outlets, public reactions varied widely.
