A man who complained to Tesco about a dead worm he found on his pre-wrapped cucumber has received a heartfelt response from the supermarket.

Taking to the store's Facebook page, Wes Metcalfe, from Sheffield, told how he had bought a cucumber in order to make his 'favourite dish', a cucumber sandwich, but realised the worm, which he had affectionately named William, was dead.

Wes shared a photograph of William the worm's 'funeral' - complete with a grave marker, a framed photograph of a worm, and a mocked-up 'Tesco value deepest sympathies card'

'I now have three very upset children,' he wrote, explaining that he planned to hold a funeral for the critter. His tongue-in cheek post, challenging them to 'wriggle yourself out of this one,' was liked 82,000 times and received thousands of shares.

Within an hour, Tesco had responded with a carefully-written 'ode to William' from Rob in their customer care team.

He wrote: 'Although life takes funny old turns, we can all learn from William the Worm. Let us gather, light a candle to burn, and celebrate the life of William the Worm.

'Lights shine bright; let's eat sponge cake through the night! Because there's many a lesson to learn.

Wes (right) bought a cucumber in order to make his 'favourite dish', a cucumber sandwich, but realised the worm, which he had affectionately named William, was dead (left)

'I now have three very upset children,' Rob wrote, explaining that he planned to hold a funeral for the critter. His tongue-in cheek post challenged them to 'wriggle yourself out of this one'

'He wriggled many miles; he gave us many smiles, so we stand today confident and firm...

'William will be back, very much life Arnie, though now we will all check, before we make a sarnie! Wishing you all the best.'

However, not content with sharing a photo of the dead worm, Wes updated them with a photograph of the 'funeral' - complete with a grave marker, a framed photograph of a worm, and a mocked-up 'Tesco value deepest sympathies card'.

Within an hour, Tesco had responded on Facebook with a carefully-written 'ode to William' from Rob in their customer care team, saying 'We can all learn from William the Worm'

He explained that while it had been an 'emotional day', the funeral had gone 'without a hitch'.

Wes then penned his own poem for the deceased creature, writing: 'Before his death William was completely unknown, spending his days in the mud on his own.

'But now his name has travelled wide and far. William the worm - the viral superstar!'

Wes explained that while it had been an 'emotional day', the funeral had gone 'without a hitch'. He then then penned his own poem for the deceased creature, calling him a 'viral superstar'

Tesco's final response. As their hilarious exchange swept social media, thousands of disgruntled customers asked Tesco to write a tribute for their own grocery disasters

Rob's final response praised Wes for his 'beautiful tribute to such a beautiful worm' and finished off with a 'musical themed tribute' - a rewrite of Oasis' 1995 hit Wonderwall.

As their hilarious exchange swept social media, thousands of disgruntled customers asked Tesco to write a tribute for their own grocery disasters - with Angie Leroux requesting a few words for the 'poor bug' in her bag of peppers.