Woman, 84, horrified after stomach-churning discovery in Morrisons juice: ‘Dead snake’ slithered out of carton

Two elderly women were left horrified and upset when they found a ‘dead snake’ in a carton of fruit juice—and refuse to believe supermarket bosses’ claim that the foot-long gelatinous entity is merely a string of mould. 

Betty Richards, 84, bought a carton of apple and mango juice from the Armthorpe branch of Morrisons as a treat for her best friend of twenty years, Julie Bircumshaw, also 84.

The BBC reports that Ms Bircumshaw noticed some ‘bits of black’ around the opening of the 1L carton, but after tasting the juice, thought it was fine to drink. 

When Ms Richards popped over to see her friend at home in Doncaster a week later, she was told about the discolouration around the nozzle. 

She was concerned, and decided to take a closer look at the £1.35 carton—which was almost empty. 

Ms Richards said: ‘She showed me this black stuff and I said “Julie, you shouldn’t be drinking that” so I poured away the little bit that was left. 

‘Then out it plopped into the sink and I thought, “oh what’s that?”‘

The former nurse was flabbergasted when she saw a mysterious dark coloured string—which she claims was 30cm long—caught in the plughole. 

Initially shocked, she regained her composure and carefully moved it from the sink onto a plate, and then, using a magnifying glass, she took a closer look at the squidgy black mass. 

Ms Richards wasn’t prepared to see a FACE staring back at her—a startling twist which was backed up by Ms Bircumshaw’s neighbour, Steven. 

She said:  ‘I could see a face, these little eyes and a nose and I thought, “that’s definitely a snake”..

‘[Steven] looked at it too and said “you’re right Betty, it’s a snake” and I thought “oh dear, Julie has drunk all of this except for that little drop at the bottom”.’ 

Outraged, Ms Richards carefully put the ‘snake’ into a carrier bag and went to speak to staff at the supermarket, but claims that they dismissed her concerns, leaving her feeling ‘disappointed’. 

She said: ‘I was shaking when I went in there but I got no comfort at all.

‘I told him “it’s not every day you find a snake in your drink” and that I was worried about Julie.

‘But he didn’t seem interested at all and I feel very let down by his lack of concern.

 ‘This has been very traumatising for us both.

‘We’re talking about this snake all the time and it’s just been terrible.’

The BBC reports that they showed an image of the ‘snake’ to experts at Leeds’s Tropical World centre. 

However, much to the ladies’ frustration, they have been unable to confirm whether the object was animal, mould—or something else.

A Morrisons spokesperson told the BBC that they had also had their own team of experts examining images of the stringy gloop, and they were ‘extremely confident’ it was mould rather than the remains of a legless reptile.

The spokesperson added that the manufacturing process was ‘fully enclosed and the liquid passes through a filter before being cartoned, which would prevent such a large item from entering the carton.’

They explained: ‘Our team believes that this could potentially be a strip of mould which may have occurred if the packaging was compromised—it only takes a hole the size of a pin (which can’t be seen) to allow air in and for mould to grow.

‘This packaging damage could have happened at any time from production, sale or even in the customer’s home.’

They also apologised that Ms Richards had not received ‘the high standard of customer care we strive for’.