'Blood' found on brand new highchair from Ashford Aldi
13:25, 12 July 2019
updated: 15:54, 13 July 2019
An expecting Ashford woman has said that finding "blood" on a newly unwrapped highchair has led to "the most scary experience I've ever had".
Hollie Dehara, 21, went to the Victoria Road Aldi on Tuesday with her partner and mum to find a chair for her unborn baby.
Having brought it home, she made a shocking discovery.
Ms Dehara, who is 26 weeks pregnant and suffers from a rare blood condition, said: "It was wrapped in packaging and when I unwrapped it, there seemed to be a mark on it.
"I wiped it off with my hand, assuming it was just something from the warehouse.
"It turned out to be blood."
Her blood was then tested at the William Harvey Hospital following a recommendation by 111 operators. The Stanhope resident now fears for her health and that of her baby.
She said: "I'm scared that I've bought something that put my baby's life in danger.
"I've a rare blood condition, and this may be the only baby I have. The doctors said I was lucky to get pregnant.
"I've got to wait a week for the results to come back. This is the most scary experience I've ever had in my whole life."
The concerned parent-to-be is also dismayed by the supermarket chain's response to her complaint.
On her first call, she was offered a £10 voucher, and she then tried to escalate it to Aldi's head office during a second call.
A third call revealed that the Head Office was unaware of the complaint and they didn't have her correct email address.
She noted: "I rang them three times and they said I'd have to take the product back to Aldi, fill in a complaint form and then wait two to three days for a response.
"It would've been in the system somewhere for someone to see but no, obviously no one seems to care. With something like this, it shouldn't take three days.
"It's either they are actually going to do something about it and pay up for putting my baby at risk, or I'll have to take them to court.
"It's not like it's broken, it's actually got body fluids on it.
"It's easy enough to say sorry, anyone can do that, but when it's affecting someone and affecting my mind, just knowing what will happen about this would be good."
Ashford's Aldi store opened in August last year, and saw hours-long queues on its first day.
A spokesman for Aldi has told the Kentish Express: "We have apologised to Ms Dehara and offered her a full refund.
"We are working with our supplier to understand how this could have occurred.”
