A grandad in the Midlands was left "frightened" after finding a snake in a bag of Aldi broccoli.
The man had a scare when saw a young ladder snake inside the supermarket veg last month.
Neville Linton, 63, said he only discovered the serpent when he was taking the bag of veg out to make a meal, three days after purchasing it from the Aldi supermarket.
The snake, which was found in broccoli purchased from the Stourbridge branch of Aldi, was taken to Dudley Zoo after the discovery.
Speaking to the Mirror, Neville 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."
He has been offered compensation for the ordeal but says it does not cover the risk to his disabled son and vulnerable mother-in-law, both of whom 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 spokesman 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 most found in areas of south-western Europe, including Portugal, Spain and Southern France.
They can often become aggressive when threatened and let out a foul odour at times of stress.
While not venomous, an agitated ladder snake would be capable of a painful bite for humans.
