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Christmas Day has got off to a stinking and miserable start for merry makers who claim they unwrapped their turkeys to discover them rotten and fetid.

Some people who purchased festive poultry from Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons had to make last minute changes to their dinner plans when they say they discovered the meat was rotten.

Divya Gill bought her turkey on December and came to prep it for the big day on Christmas Eve.

When she did she says she discovered it was stinking and out of date.

"Absolutely appalled at Morrisons to buy a turkey two days ago and to open it to prep today for it to be completely out of date - as in my dog started gagging - when the sell by date is the 26th," Divya said.

"Lucky that we opened it today and M&S had plenty of not rotten food left."

Vicky Broomhead also had issues with the turkey she bought from Morrisons.

Have you had a Christmas dinner disaster? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

(Image: Aldi)

She said: "I have just come to prep my turkey to go in the oven and it stinks.

"It has gone off so now there's no turkey for family on Xmas day."

Morrisons was not the only supermarket chain to come under fire from disgruntled Christmas dinner enthusiasts.

One person even claimed Tesco has 'ruined Christmas' and shared a snap of his turkey that had an unsettling black tinge.

He posted a picture of the bird which had a 3cm hole in its back surrounded by what appeared to be rotten flesh.

James Davies claims he picked up his bird from an Aldi on December 19 and placed it in the fridge as soon as he got home.

He said: "When we came to cook it this afternoon, Christmas Eve, we were concerned by the nasty smell coming from it.

"Nevertheless, we still cooked it in the oven, but the smell still remained, and clearly the meat was rotten.

"Our Christmas dinner is completely ruined for tomorrow. We have no replacement."

Ricky Yates was similarly been left one turkey short of a full dinner after claiming to discover his Aldi purchase was off.

(Image: Ricky Yates) (Image: Ricky Yates)

"We opened the turkey after all supermarkets were closed, and are now left with trimmings and a cheese board to fill Christmas lunch," he said.

According to industry website britishturkey.co.uk a turkey will smell very gamey, acrid or of ammonia if it has gone off.

The flesh could also have a greenish tinge and feel quite slimy.

"If in any doubt - don't risk it - bin it," advice on its website reads.

(Image: Supplied)

"The flesh should be in good colour and look moist in appearance with no dry flaky patches."

Another disappointed diner emailed in to to say they had cooked their turkey overnight only to wake up the following morning to the smell of 'rotting flesh'.

Chase Griffin said: "We've had to throw a whole Turkey away today and had a xmas dinner with no meat!"

(Image: Supplied)

Beth noticed some of these tell-tale signs despite buying a turkey from Tesco on the evening of December 23 and quickly refrigerating it.

"I went to put prepare it on (Christmas Eve) and it stinks to high heaven," she said.

"It is slimy and stinks rotten. Not great on Christmas Eve night. Says the best before date is the 26th but clearly not."

An Aldi spokesperson said: 'We are sorry that, in a small number of instances, we did not meet our usual high-quality standards.

(Image: Ricky Yates)

"Customers can return any product that they are not satisfied with to their nearest store for a full refund, or alternatively contact our customer services department.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “The turkey is an important part of many Christmas dinners, so we take great care when selecting and preparing our turkeys.

"We’re sorry to hear about this incident and if Beth returns the product to one of our stores we can investigate further.”

Morrisons was contacted for comment.