A mother-of-five from Florida has revealed an addiction to eating sofas.

Adele Edwards, 30, is believed to suffer from pica, a condition where patients feel compelled to eat largely non-nutritive substances, The Sun reports.

Edwards said: "I was 10 years old when I was first introduced to cushion. At first, I thought it was strange but, after sucking it for a while, I came to like the texture.

"I started chewing cushion regularly and would swallow whole chunks as though it was candy floss. It sounds strange but, to me, foam tasted like sweets."

She added to Discovery Home & Health show My Strange Addiction: "I'm scared. I've never eaten cushion in front of my kids - I don't want them to copy me.

"They don't know what I'm doing to my body but I'm terrified that one day they'll have to tell people, 'Mummy died from eating too many sofas.'"

Edwards, who has consumed an estimated eight sofas and five chairs, also eats elastic bands, other rubber items and recently required an emergency procedure to remove foam from her intestines.

Last year, E! ordered a new documentary series titled What's Eating You?, which explored unusual eating disorders, including "a woman who eats a roll of toilet paper dipped in pickle juice every night before bed".

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