Aldi customer horrified after discovering a young ladder snake in his bag of broccoli

An Aldi customer was left horrified after discovering a young ladder snake hiding in his bag of broccoli. 

Neville Linton, 63, said finding the reptile, which is capable of a nasty bite, in his super greens was a 'frightening' experience.

The grandfather told how he bought the vegetable from an Aldi branch in Stourbridge, West Midlands, last month and stored it in the fridge before taking it out to prepare a meal three days later.

Upon removing the plastic packaging on his kitchen counter, he found the non-venomous snake tucked up near the stem. 

Mr Linton, who works in industrial cleaning, is scared of snakes so relatives jumped in to scoop up the creature.

Neville Linton, 63, said discovering the young ladder snake in the vegetable - which is capable of a nasty bite - was a 'frightening' experience

Mr Linton (right), who works in industrial cleaning, is scared of snakes so relatives (like his son Donovan, left) jumped in to scoop up the reptile

He bought the broccoli from an Aldi branch in Stourbridge (pictured), West Midlands, on June 2 and stored it in the fridge before taking it out to prepare a meal three days later

It was later taken to nearby Dudley Zoo where it was identified as a ladder snake.

The species is from south western Europe and, although not venomous, can give humans a nasty nip.

Mr Linton, from Birmingham, 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.

'That would have been a huge risk for us because we have two vulnerable people living here.'

Once he realised the creature cuddling up to his broccoli was too big to be a caterpillar, he called for his sister Ann-Marie Tenkanemin, 57, who identified it as a snake.

Ladder snakes are mostly found in Portugal, Spain, southern France and parts of Italy. They can become aggressive when threatened and are capable of letting off a foul odour

The pair popped it in a tub and drove it back to the Aldi store in Dudley Road where Mr Linton had bought the veg.

He said: 'I thought she was joking at first, but I backed off when I saw it start moving. The guy in the shop was pretty frightened too.'

The snake was taken to Dudley Zoo where it was identified as a young ladder snake by a specialist, said Mr Linton's 41-year-old son Donovan.

Mr Linton has been offered compensation, but is pushing for more.

The father-of-three said the amount offered does not compensate him for the risk to his disabled son and vulnerable mother-in-law, who live with him.

He added: '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.'

An Aldi spokesperson said: 'Our supplier has never had a complaint of this nature and has robust processes in place to prevent such issues occurring.

'We are investigating this isolated incident and have apologised to Mr Linton that our usual high standards were not met.'

Ladder snakes are mostly found in Portugal, Spain, southern France and parts of Italy.

They can become aggressive when threatened and are capable of letting off a foul odour.

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