Tesco apologises as mum claims she found 'worms' in chicken

Freya Hill, 31, from Frimley in Surrey, made the discovery while preparing Sunday lunch for her partner on September 6.

She said: "I bought the chicken to have for our Sunday lunch. We've never had any issues with anything bought from Tesco.

"I went to stuff the chicken with lemon and butter in it then saw a maggoty thing. I noticed the chicken was a grey colour."

She had purchased the chicken days earlier from the Tesco Extra store in Sandhurst, Berkshire, for £3.40.

Upon opening the packaging, she said she saw two worm-like creatures and described the chicken as "filthy" and covered in seeds.

She said the chicken appeared to have been dropped on the floor and contaminated with feed.

Ms Hill said: "I said to my partner, 'this isn't right, come look at this.' Then we looked at it and saw the mealworm and all these seeds.

"We saw two of the worms, they weren't moving, there maybe could've been more in there. I was really grossed out, we didn't cook it."

Freya bought the bird from Tesco Extra in Sandhurst (Image: Kennedy News and Media)

She contacted Tesco's customer service team via WhatsApp later that evening and was initially offered a £10 voucher, which she declined.

The offer was later increased to £20, which she accepted, but she insisted her primary concern was food safety, not compensation.

Ms Hill said: "I just thought, 'if I've got a chicken like this, there could be more out there from that batch.'

"We threw it away and got a takeaway instead. Money really wasn't the issue, it was about there maybe being others out there.

"I wasn't complaining to get a refund or compensation. I won't be buying chickens from Tesco again. I think they just fobbed me off and brushed it under the carpet.

"It's definitely made me paranoid about checking chickens in the future. I've not bought one since."

The 31-year-old removed the chicken from its packaging to fill with lemon and butter when she claims she spotted two 'worms' spilling out of the meat (Image: Kennedy News and Media)

Tesco has apologised and said it is investigating the complaint with its supplier.

A spokesman for the supermarket giant said: "We're sorry to hear about this.

"We work closely with our suppliers to ensure there are robust quality procedures in place, and all our products are thoroughly checked throughout the production process.

"In a situation like this we encourage customers to return the product to store for a full refund and so our team can fully investigate the complaint."

Ms Hill said the experience has put her off buying chicken from Tesco in the future.