A QUALIFIED pest controller said he felt sick after eating spider-infested grapes he was sold at a supermarket.

Adam Campbell from Darlington bought the "expertly selected grapes" from Lidl, on Yarm Road in Darlington during his weekly shop.

The 30-year-old father-of-two realised something was wrong when he began eating the grapes and felt something crunchy in his mouth. He then inspected the fruit and saw a large cluster of spider eggs.

Mr Campbell even said one of the eggs had a spider’s leg coming out of it. He was worried it would hatch, escape the packet and get into his house.

He said: “I thought the crunch might have just been a stalk at first because I didn’t think but now, I’m not sure if I ate an actual spider or just some of the eggs.

“If you saw me yesterday I was absolutely distraught and really panicking. I even rang Killgerm Chemicals and asked if they could identify the species of spider as I was worried it could be poisonous.

"I think the eggs could be from the Brazilian wandering spider as the grapes come from Brazil – you can tell they’re tropical by the size."

Mr Campbell rang Lidl for an explanation, but claims he received terrible customer service from the company. He said: “I want Lidl to get back to me and apologise about the spiders because I’m still quite angry. I’ve been there since for nappies and they’re still selling the grapes, they haven’t even taken them off the shelves but it’s a matter of public health.”

A spokesperson for Lidl said: “We were very sorry to hear of this matter. Following initial contact from the customer on Tuesday, June 12, the case was immediately escalated to our quality assurance team who, after requesting further information, opened an investigation with the supplier.

“At Lidl, we pride ourselves on having thorough procedures in place to ensure that our fresh fruit and vegetables are of the highest possible quality for our customers. This includes specific measures during transportation from country of origin. We are, therefore, disappointed that these expected high standards have not been met on this occasion. While this appears to be an isolated matter, upon conclusion of the investigation, we will update the customer on our findings and any next steps.”