Last month, 63-year-old Neville Linton bought a bag of broccoli from an Aldi branch in Stourbridge, England, and stored it in his fridge. When he unwrapped the broccoli three days later, he discovered an unexpected guest—a snake. The snake, which had been exploring a broccoli field in southwestern Europe, was packed and shipped to the UK supermarket.

Neville, who works in industrial cleaning, was shocked and frightened by the discovery. “It’s lucky I didn’t just leave the broccoli out in the kitchen, or it would have been loose in the house,” he said, noting the risk to his disabled son and vulnerable mother-in-law. He called his sister Ann-Marie Tenkanemin for help, and she identified the creature as a snake. They placed it in a tub and returned to the Aldi store.

The snake was taken to Dudley Zoo, where it was identified as a young ladder snake. However, herpetologist Dr. Steven J R Allain identified it as a viperine water snake (Natrix maura), a harmless species from southwestern Europe and northern Africa. Allain explained that the snake likely ended up in the broccoli field before being inadvertently transported to the UK.

Neville is seeking compensation from Aldi, citing the risk to his family and his own fear of snakes. An Aldi spokesperson stated, “We are investigating this isolated incident and have apologized to Mr. Linton that our usual high standards were not met.”