Couple horrified to find 'maggots' in chicken bought from Aldi in Sheffield

A close-up showing what Darren and his partner say are maggots inside the chicken

Darren Lister was preparing a Sunday roast with his girlfriend Hannah, having purchased the chicken from the Aldi store in Handsworth the previous afternoon, when he made the grim discovery.

The 31-year-old student nurse from Swallownest was disgusted to find the bird's innards had been left inside and a number of dead maggots were visible, as shown in these photos.

Darren Lister says he was so horrified he is considering becoming a vegetarian

When he contacted Aldi, the retailer offered him a refund and £20 worth of vouchers - a sum he described as 'insulting' since it wouldn't even cover the cost of the takeaway the couple ordered after their supper plans were thrown into disarray.

"We were both shocked to find maggots inside the chicken, and I'm reluctant to shop there again after this experience," said Mr Lister.

"I'm toying with going vegetarian for a while at least because I was so horrified and the thought of eating meat, especially chicken, doesn't appeal to me at the moment.

"I found the amount they offered in compensation insulting. To me it suggests they don't value us as customers, and it doesn't give us confidence that they're investigating to make sure it won't happen again.

The couple say the chicken's intestines had been left inside

"We want to be made aware of exactly how this happened and what's going to be done as a result."

Mr Lister said the bird's intestines were still inside, despite government advice stating it is illegal to sell uncooked intestines in this country, except as sausage skin.

He told how his partner is a veterinary surgeon, so has seen worse, but she never expected to be confronted by such a sight while preparing a meal.

"She's very cross. When I first saw it I asked 'is that a maggot?' and she said 'it can't be', so she was a bit shocked when she found out it was," he added.

"It's so disappointing to find you can't trust a supermarket to provide safe food fit for human consumption.

"Hannah said you can't even put intestinal contents in pet foods (legally) as they are high-risk animal by-products."

An Aldi spokeswoman said: "We have apologised to Mr Lister and have raised this isolated incident with our supplier."