Shocking moment huge GECKO fell out of tin of Lidl sweetcorn in front of terrified dad as he cooked kids' tea

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

Grandad John says he now checks every tin before eating
GRIM FIND Shocking moment huge GECKO fell out of tin of Lidl sweetcorn in front of terrified dad as he cooked kids' tea
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A GRANDFATHER was left with a sour taste after discovering a dead lizard in a tin of sweetcorn.
John Shier, 53, was cooking a meal for his wife and son last month when he uncovered the fully preserved body of a gecko stuck to the can's lid.
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John Shier, 53, was cooking a meal when he found the gecko
Credit: John Shier
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The dead lizard was sitting on top of the sweetcorn after he opened the tin
Credit: John Shier
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John had to do a double take after spotting the creature
Credit: Paul Tonge
The sales manager, of Spalding, Lincs, did a double take after spotting the seven centimetre-long creature and likened the discovery to something out of a "bushtucker trial".
Pictures show the squashed lizard sitting on top of the yellow veggies and a visible imprint of the animal under the ring-pull lid.
Dad-of-two John purchased the tin of Freshona sweetcorn from Lidl as part of a multipack and admitted he had some concerns over the contents of the remaining containers.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: 'I thought I was on I'm a Celebrity, it was like a proper bushtucker trial challenge.
'I just wanted the sweetcorn, I didn't really want a seven centimetre gecko to go with it!
'I was just cooking at home and making a usual stir fry, which means I normally just throw everything into a wok.
'I had already added one tin of the sweetcorn, but in the process of opening the second one this thing just caught my eye.
'I did a double take and saw what was sitting right on the top of the tin. I've never seen anything like that before in my life.
'That was it after that, I didn't want to eat any of the ingredients I was eating because I couldn't be sure what was in there. None of us wanted to eat any of the food.
'It's lucky I spotted it really, I might have missed it or it could have been buried beneath the sweetcorn.
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'If I had missed that and thrown it into the meal, or if it was buried in the tin, one of us might have ended up eating it.
'It's safe to say that every tinned item I've opened since has been sieved before use.'
And John accused supermarket giants Lidl of 'not taking it seriously' when they offered him a ten pound voucher after being presented with the evidence of his extraordinary find.
In a statement, Lidl said: 'It is never our intention for our customers to be dissatisfied in any way.
'We take matters of this nature extremely seriously and pride ourselves on the rigorous quality assurance processes we have in place across our supply chain.
'Reports of this kind are exceptionally rare – we've received no other customer complaints, and we believe this to be an isolated case.
'Nonetheless, our Quality Assurance team is in contact with the customer directly on this matter.'
He added: 'This isn't a fly or a small insect, I would understand that because they are so miniscule.
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John was offered a measly £10 voucher after his find
Credit: Paul Tonge
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John demanded an apology from Lidl
Credit: John Shier
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He has vouched to never shop with the supermarket giant again
Credit: Paul Tonge
'But this is a lizard, which is fully intact and measuring seven centimetres.
'I'm shocked at their response, I thought they would take it more seriously.
'I don't know the toxicity levels of a gecko but it could have been really poisonous. I certainly wouldn't want to take the risk of eating one.
'It's a bit of a joke. It's bad enough I could have served it to my wife or son, but one of my grandchildren could have been eating that meal.
'I spend money in that store religiously every week and there is no recognition of my loyalty in their response.
'I have been offered a measly ten pound voucher. I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted at the lack of empathy or the ridiculous gesture.
'I will not be shopping there again.'