A pungent durian fruit caused a stir in the English seaside town of Lytham St Annes after its aroma was mistaken for a gas leak.
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A market scene featuring a large pile of durians. Illustration photo by Unsplash |
The Daily Mail reported that a charity shop raised the alarm on Monday, prompting Cadent Gas, a British regional gas distribution company, to dispatch an engineer to investigate the suspected leak. After checking the charity shop and the adjacent body care outlet with no issues found, the engineer moved on to the greengrocer on the other side of the clothing store, Strongs Fruit and Veg, and discovered the source of the smell: a few small boxes of durian.
According to The Straits TimesStrongs’ store assistants–Wai Peng Cheng, 51, and Candy Pooi Kuan Lam, 46–initially had no idea what was happening. It was only when Cheng took the engineer outside and showed him the durian that the confusion was resolved.
“We all just started laughing. It was hilarious,” Cheng said.
The durian had been imported by shop owner Andrew Simpkins following a trip to Malaysia, where the assistants had encountered the fruit. Delivered earlier that day, the fruit was sold at 22 euros (US$30) per 500 grams.
“I knew it smelled bad but I didn’t think it would bring the gas board out,” Simpkins said. “They even had some police officers there, but the fruit flew off the shelf despite the fuss.”
A Cadent spokesperson subsequently confirmed that no gas was detected in the area.
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