A trip to the supermarket took an unexpected turn for a 63-year-old man, Neville Linton, who came home with more than he bargained for—a snake hidden in his groceries!
Last month, Neville visited an Aldi store in Stourbridge, England, and bought a bag of broccoli. He stored it in his fridge until he planned on preparing a meal three days later. When he finally opened the bag, he was shocked to find a wriggling surprise inside.
Curious about the details? Don’t miss our chat with renowned herpetologist Dr. Steven J R Allain, known as The Pop-Punk Herpetologist.
A snake that was exploring a broccoli field somewhere in southwestern Europe got packed up and shipped to a British supermarket
Without suspecting, Neville Linton, 63, picked it up together with a bag of vegetables and took the reptile home
Neville, who works in industrial cleaning, couldn’t believe his eyes. “It was pretty frightening. I’m not good with snakes,” he shared. “It’s lucky I didn’t just leave the broccoli out in the kitchen, or it would have been loose in the house.”
He was particularly worried because two vulnerable people live with him. Realizing the creature was too large to be a caterpillar, he called his sister Ann-Marie Tenkanemin for help, who identified it as a snake. They promptly placed it in a tub and went back to the Aldi store on Dudley Road, where Neville had purchased the broccoli.
“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,” he added.
The snake was taken to a local zoo and its specialists determined that it was a young ladder snake
But herpetologist Dr. Steven J R Allain suspects it might be a viperine water snake
The local zoo staff believed the snake to be a young ladder snake. However, upon reviewing the photograph, Dr. Steven J R Allain had different thoughts.
“Having reviewed the photo of the snake in the broccoli, I am not sure the zoo identified the species correctly,” Allain explained. “To my expert eyes, it appears to be a viperine water snake (Natrix maura), a harmless fish-eating species from southwestern Europe and northern Africa.”
Dr. Allain, a zoology graduate with research focusing on snakes, highlighted that food transported to the UK often comes from the Mediterranean, making it plausible for the snake to have been accidentally transported. “The snake was likely moving through a field when it got scooped up by agricultural machinery and found refuge in the broccoli,” he added.
The snake’s journey from the Mediterranean to the UK, and then to Neville’s fridge, took some time. Dr. Allain explained that some snakes could go months without food and that the cold fridge temperatures helped lower its metabolism, reducing energy needs, though it would have been quite uncomfortable, especially considering the drastic change in climate.
“Viperine water snakes are only dangerous to fish or frogs, not humans,” he continued. “They’d rather play dead than bite, and they’re non-venomous to humans.”
Dr. Allain acknowledged that while the experience was distressing for Neville, especially given his fear of snakes, understanding and education about snakes could lead to more positive reactions in such situations. “The snake ended up in the wrong place, but its new home at Dudley Zoo might help alleviate snake-related fears,” he said.
Neville is trying to get compensated for having to go through all of this
Neville has been offered some compensation but is seeking more. With two vulnerable family members at home, he felt the risk was significant. “The amount they offered doesn’t sound fair given the risk to my disabled son and vulnerable mother-in-law. Plus, I’m phobic of snakes, so there’s the emotional impact too.”
An Aldi spokesperson stated, “Our supplier has never had a complaint of this nature and has robust processes in place to prevent such issues. We are investigating this isolated incident and have apologized to Mr. Linton for not meeting our usual high standards.”
After the local news picked up the story, people had all sorts of reactions
