Recently, a 63-year-old man purchased a bag of broccoli and found something inside that left him horrified.

According to TVBS, Neville Linton, of Birmingham, UK, went to an Aldi supermarket to restock his fridge and bought a bag of broccoli. 3 days later, when he removed the plastic packaging on the kitchen counter, he discovered a snake tucked up in one of the stems of the vegetable. After careful inspection, Neville Linton realized it was still alive!

Horrified, Mr. Linton said: “It was pretty frightening. I’m not good with snakes. It’s lucky I didn’t just leave the broccoli out in the kitchen, or it would have been loose in the house.”

A Sneaky Snake Rattles Grocery Shopper

Mr. Linton works in industrial cleaning and he is scared of snakes. Fortunately, his sister, Ann-Marie Tenkanemin, 57, stepped in to help. The two put the broccoli onto a tub and headed for the Aldi branch where Mr. Linton bought the bag of vegetables. The manager of the store was frightened by what he saw.

“I thought she (sister) was joking at first, but I backed off when I saw it start moving. The guy in the shop was pretty frightened too.”, Mr. Linton said.

Later, Mr. Linton and his 41-year-old son, Donovan brought the creature to Dudley Zoo for identification and they discovered it was a young ladder snake. 

According to the zoo staff, although the snake was not venomous, it can give a nasty nip to humans.

Although he had been offered some compensation, Linton believes the situation should warrant more since the snake was a risk to the vulnerable relatives that lived with him, including his disabled son and his mother-in-law.

In fear for them, he said: “That would have been a huge risk for us because we have two vulnerable people living here. It’s just not good enough. The implications for us, if it had got out in the house, are huge. Plus, I’m phobic of snakes, so there’s the emotional impact of that too.”

The Aldi branch manager admits that they have not received similar complaints from other customers. However, they will establish a protocol for SOP prevention so as not to encounter similar problems in the future, and more customers will feel at ease patronizing their store again.