On an ordinary day, Neville Linton, 63, went grocery shopping. However, he discovered a “shocking” surprise in a bunch of broccoli.
He had gone to an Aldi store in the West Midlands, England, as usual. But 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 on hand to grab the snake. “It was quite scary,” said a grandfather.
“I don’t handle snakes well. It’s a good thing I didn’t just leave the broccoli lying around in the kitchen, or it would have spread throughout the house. Since we have two sensitive individuals here, it would have been a significant risk for us.”
After discovering the reptile, he called his sister Ann-Marie Tenkanemin, 57, who identified it as a snake. The pair captured the lizard in a plastic container and took it back to Aldi.
“At first, I thought she was joking,” Linton said of Tenkanemin’s identification of the snake, “but when I saw it move, I held back.” “The guy in the store was also very scared.”
Although he was compensated, Linton believes the case deserved more attention because the snake posed a danger to his vulnerable relatives, including his paralyzed son and mother-in-law.
“It’s just not good enough – the impact on us if it had escaped in the house would have been enormous,” he explained. “There’s also the emotional impact of having a fear of snakes.”
“Our supplier has never received a complaint of this nature and has implemented robust processes to prevent such issues,” said an Aldi representative.
“We are reviewing this isolated incident and have apologized to Mr. Linton for not adhering to our normal high standards.”
A specialist from Dudley Zoo identified the reptile as a baby ladder snake, according to Linton’s son Donovan, 41. Although they may look frightening and cause a painful bite, they are not venomous.
They can be found in many European countries, including Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy and France. Hedges, forests, vineyards, rodent burrows, hollow trees, orchards, and rocks are ideal temperate habitats for them.
Ladder snakes are typically solitary, aggressive, and defensive. They fend off enemies by snapping their sharp teeth and emitting a terrible odor. Despite their carnivorous nature, they avoid humans.
Instead, they feed on rodents like mice and rabbits, as well as birds, spiders, lizards, and insects. The lizard that invaded the broccoli was relocated to Dudley Zoo.
However, herpetologist Dr. Steven J. R. Allain recognizes it as a viperine snake, which is fortunately less deadly. “Having reviewed the [actual] photo of the snake in the broccoli, I’m not sure if the zoo has correctly identified the species,” noted Allain.
“In my expert opinion, the snake is a viperine snake (Natrix maura), a harmless, fish-eating species found throughout southwestern Europe and North Africa.”
He speculates on how it could have gotten into the broccoli.
“Since the Mediterranean region provides a large portion of the food grown and imported into the United Kingdom, it’s not surprising to find a species from that region in some likely locally grown vegetables there.”
The snake likely traveled through the field at that point, before being captured by agricultural machinery and seeking shelter in the broccoli, in my opinion.”
