A normal trip to the store for 63-year-old Neville Linton turned into a scary surprise when he found a snake hiding in his bag of veggies from Aldi. Neville is upset about the sudden meeting and wants to get paid.
The broccoli was bought by Neville at an Aldi store in Sturbridge, England, last month. He kept it in his fridge for three days. He was surprised to find the unwanted guest when he took the vegetables out of the package.
“I’m not good with snakes,” Neville said. “It’s lucky I didn’t just leave the broccoli out in the kitchen, or it would have been loose in the house.” Neville was more worried because his crippled son and weak mother-in-law lived with him.
Neville put the snake in a tub and took it back to the Aldi store with the help of his sister Ann-Marie. After that, the animal was taken to Dudley Zoo, where experts confirmed that it was a young ladder snake.
Dr. Steven J. R. Allain, a herpetologist, doesn’t agree with the identification, though. “To my expert eyes, the snake is actually a viperine water snake (Nitrox Maura), a harmless fish-eating species found throughout southwestern Europe and northern Africa.”
Dr. Allain said it was likely that the snake got into the UK on farm tools and looked for safety in the broccoli. “These snakes can go months without food, and the chilling of the fridge would have kept its metabolism low.”
Even though the snake isn’t dangerous, Neville wants to be compensated for what happened. Aldi has apologized and offered to pay Neville, but he thinks the amount is too little given the danger to his family.
People have had a range of responses to the event, with some finding it funny and others feeling worried. Dr. Allain hopes that the experience will help people learn more about snakes and get rid of worries and false beliefs about them.
Neville is still upset about what happened and is determined to get fair pay. The snake that was hiding in the broccoli is a lesson of how unpredictable life is and how important it is to understand and care about others.
