Mum Shocked By Late Labyrinth Worm Christmas Present From eBay
She ordered the gift on eBay for £6, and even at that price, it didn't prove to be value for money
Just like that, Christmas has been and gone, and we're now wading our way through the dark depths of January, reminding ourselves regularly that the days are getting longer.
If you're lucky, then you'll have an array of generous gifts to keep you preoccupied - but spare a thought for a mum in Teesside and her daughter.
The mum-of-three - who wished to remain anonymous - scoured the web for a gift relating to the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth, which her seven-year-old daughter is obsessed with.
Eventually, she stumbled upon a William The Worm toy on eBay, and priced at just £6, she figured she couldn't really go wrong. How wrong she was...
Despite ordering the gift in November, William didn't rock up until 3 January, having travelled at a worm's pace from its seller.
Ordinarily, you'd say better late than never - but not in this case.
Upon opening the package, the Hartlepool mum couldn't believe her eyes.
She told TeessideLive: "I saw the little cute worm William which lives in the labyrinth and thought my daughter would love it for Christmas.
"The picture of the toy looked just like the puppet in the film. So I ordered it at the end of November and was told it would be here by 20 December.
"To be honest I completely forgot about it until it arrived in the post on 3 January.
"On opening it all I could do was laugh. At first I thought it must have been a joke. Or a very poorly constructed dog toy ordered by my husband.
"It looks like a photo of the worm has been printed onto material then stretched across the filling so it's eyes and mouth are all distorted and the blue fluffy tufts are falling to bits."
Oh dear. Looks as though the decades since the release of Labyrinth haven't been kind to Will. Perhaps he struggled to land other parts or let the fame go to his head.
The description of the toy from the eBay seller said there 'might be a bit [sic] color distortions due to different computer resolutions', but that seems to be somewhat downplaying the state of this fella.
Luckily for William, it looks like his amusingly poor condition may have just secured his future in the home.
The mum said: "When I checked the description it advised that it may look different to the advertised photo - they can say that again!
"My husband thinks I should demand a refund but it only cost £6 and it's given everyone such a good laugh, I think I might keep it just for the memories.
"I thought about giving it to the dogs but even they turned their noses up at it."
Featured Image Credit: Columbia/EMI/WarnerJake Massey