A MAN has spoken of his disgust after finding a maggot embedded in a piece of broccoli he was about to eat.

Ashley Holroyd was chopping up the vegetable to eat for his tea when he found the insect hiding in the head of the broccoli.

He was shocked to discover the insect in the item he had bought fresh only the day before from the Aldi store in Hindpool Road, Barrow.

The 26-year-old, of Dumfries Street, said: “We were chopping up the head of broccoli when we saw little holes in the stem.

“Then we noticed that there were two maggots hiding in it.

“I was shocked because I thought it would be fully fresh, because we only bought it a day ago.

“It made me feel sick and put me right off my food. It was disgusting.”

Mr Holroyd said he was hesitant to ever shop at the supermarket chain again and was worried about previous produce he had bought from the store.

He said: “I have always bought a lot of fresh produce from Aldi. I do not think I ever will again after this.

“It makes me doubt the safety of all the fruit and vegetables I have bought from there in the past.”

Other customers across the country have reported similar problems after buying broccoli from the German supermarket chain.

Multiple shoppers shared images of caterpillar- and maggot-infested florets on social media.

Apologising for Mr Holroyd's ordeal, an Aldi spokesperson said the maggots were a result the broccoli being grown in natural conditions.

A spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, although these instances are rare, this can happen with products that are grown outdoors in natural conditions.

"We apologise to Mr Holroyd and have shared his feedback with our supplier.”