On an ordinary day, Neville Linton, 63, was grocery shopping. However, he made a «terrifying» discovery in a bouquet of broccoli.
He had gone, as usual, to Aldi in the West Midlands, England. However, a few days later, while cooking, he opened the bag and found a snake in the vegetables.
It’s every ophidiophobe’s nightmare. Unfortunately, Linton had a great fear of snakes.
Linton, who works in industrial cleaning, was rescued by his relatives, who were immediately present and seized the snake. «It was quite scary,» said the grandfather.
«I don’t cope well with snakes. Luckily, I didn’t just leave the broccoli lying around in the kitchen, otherwise, it would have invaded the whole house. As we have two sensitive individuals here, it would have been a significant danger for us.»
After discovering the reptile, he called his sister Ann-Marie Tenkanemin, 57, who identified it as a snake. The couple captured the lizard in a plastic container and took it back to Aldi.
«At first, I thought she was joking,» Linton said about Tenkanemin’s identification of the snake, «but when I saw it move, I backed off.» «The guy in the store was also very scared.»
Although compensation was given to him, Linton feels that the matter should have received more attention, as the snake posed a danger to his vulnerable relatives, including his paralyzed son and mother-in-law.
«It’s just not enough—the consequences for us if it had invaded the house would have been huge,» he explained. «There’s also the emotional impact of being afraid of snakes.»
«Our supplier has never received a complaint of this nature and has robust processes in place to prevent such issues,» said an Aldi representative.
«We are reviewing this isolated event and have apologized to Mr. Linton for not meeting our usual high standards.»
A specialist from Dudley Zoo identified the reptile as a baby ladder snake, according to Linton’s son, Donovan, 41. Although they look scary and can deliver a painful bite, they are not venomous.
They can be found in many European countries, including Spain, Portugal, and some parts of Italy and France. Hedges, forests, vineyards, rodent burrows, hollow trees, orchards, and rocks are ideal habitats for them.
Ladder snakes are typically solitary, aggressive, and defensive. They repel enemies by biting with their sharp teeth and emitting a terrible smell. Despite being carnivorous by nature, they avoid humans.
Instead, they feed on rodents like mice and rabbits, as well as birds, spiders, lizards, and insects. The lizard that sneaked into the broccoli was transferred to Dudley Zoo.
However, herpetologist specialist Dr. Steven J.R. Allain identifies it as a viperine snake, which is fortunately less deadly. «After examining the actual photo of the snake in the broccoli, I’m not sure the zoo correctly identified the species,» noted Allain.
«In my expert opinion, the snake is a viperine snake (Natrix maura), a harmless species that feeds on fish and is found throughout southwestern Europe and North Africa.»
He speculates on how it could have ended up in the broccoli.
«As the Mediterranean region provides much of the cultivated and imported food to the UK, it’s not surprising to find a species from that region in certain vegetables likely grown there.»
«The snake would most likely have traveled through the field at that time, before being captured by farm machinery and seeking refuge in the broccoli, in my opinion.»
