A 23-year-old lady in the UK likes to tuck into 20 washing up sponges every day, soaked in apple flavoured dishwashing liquid

London: A 23-year-old lady in the UK likes to tuck into 20 washing up sponges every day, soaked in apple flavoured dishwashing liquid.

Emma Thompson, from North Tyneside, describes eating sponges as her "guilty pleasure".



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The habit has become an addiction and she now suffers from Pica (an OCD disorder that involves eating things with no nutritional value) although she has not yet sought treatment for it, Metro reported.

Her recipe for a tasty sponge involves soaking it overnight in apple flavoured fairy liquid, then removing the scouring pad.

"Some people go out for a steak, I would rather go out for a sponge. It's a guilty pleasure. My friends takes the mick out of me, they say, "Are we going to have sponge and chips for tea?," she said.

"I am definitely addicted to it," she added.

Emma eats between two and 20 sponges a day. She has been eating kitchen sponges since trying one while washing the dishes two years ago.

She sometimes cuts up the sponges and takes them with her to work in a lunch box.

"When I seen a new sponge in the shop I would try them but I was always disappointed so now I stick to what I like. I won't use the sponges if someone else has touched them," she added.