A Hackney woman is warning people to check spice jars bought from Lidl after she found what appeared to be maggot-like bugs in her paprika.

Sue Cannon recently bought two jars of paprika from her local Lidl in Wells Street but was shocked and sickened when she found the creepy crawlies and larvae living in the containers.

She worries the issue with the Hot Paprika Kania product, which bears the Lidl logo on it’s packaging, may not be a one-off, as one of the jars was unsealed and both display different expiry dates and batch numbers.

She said: “I had ingested nearly half of the jar before I realised."

Several days ago Sue had taken the lid off the paprika and put a spoon in while cooking, but soon noticed clumps and things moving within the jar.

Hackney Gazette: The maggots or larvae can be seen at the bottom of the Kania Hot Paprika jar.The maggots or larvae can be seen at the bottom of the Kania Hot Paprika jar. (Image: Sue Cannon)

“I thought I must be seeing things but then I looked in the jar and around the jar and I could see all these maggoty larvae things," she added.

Sue then checked another unopened jar she had bought, meant to expire in December of this year, and found the same creatures visible from the outside of the container.

The opened paprika jar’s sell by date was October 2021.

The 57-year-old resident rang Hackney Environmental Health immediately and the Gazette has since reported the incident to the Food Standards Agency’s local division.

Sue has not been back to the shop to check whether the jars are off the shelves but a spokesperson for Lidl has said: “We were very sorry to hear of this matter as it is never our intention for a customer to be dissatisfied in any way.

"Following initial contact from the customer, the case was immediately escalated to our Quality Assurance team who are currently investigating the issue with the supplier. We remain in direct contact with the customer and will keep them fully updated of our findings."

But Sue believes the public should be warned, especially people with sight problems and the elderly, and all Lidl branches alerted.

Hackney Gazette: One of the jars was unopened and sealed. They each display different expiry dates and batch numbers.One of the jars was unopened and sealed. They each display different expiry dates and batch numbers. (Image: Sue Cannon)

"It made me feel really sick but it's other people I am concerned about," she said.