Woman plays brilliant prank on trick-or-treaters involving Brussels sprouts

A woman played a brilliant prank on trick-or-treaters on Halloween - and it involved Brussels sprouts.

Billie-Anne McCarthy, from Eltham in southeast London, made a little plan for the kids who came by her shop hoping for some sweets.

She covered raw Brussels sprouts in chocolate and mixed them in with other sweets, My London reports.

Responses on social media were mixed - with some seeing the funny side but others far from impressed.

Billie-Anne posted on community Facebook group Eltham, SE9: "Nice little trick for the trick or treaters later on.

"I’m also a little evil and have no regrets," along with pictures of the chocolate-covered sprouts.

Some found it funny - but not everyone (Billie-Anne McCarthy)

While many thought this was a hilarious prank, some commenters didn't appreciate the joke, leading to a later edit which read: "For those who are so offended by this. 1: it was done at my work for the kids that come in the shop, 2: they were mixed in with proper sweets and EVERY kid that picked a sprout also got an actual sweet, 3: Parents were told what it was, 4: the parents were in stitches watching the kids eat them, 5: every kid that got one also thought it was funny."

Billie-Anne revealed that last year she had done the same with mini pickled onions, and one woman commented to say she'd done the same but with fresh garlic.

Some parents expressed concern that kids were being fed things that they weren't expecting, and others said children should be taught to not take unwrapped sweets.

One just thought it was an unfair trick to play on little children.

But a fan of the prank wrote: "Love it. I'd bring my nephew over just to see his face when he takes a bite.

Another agreed: "Nice to see someone sliding towards tricks rather than treats."

Some commented on how much they loved sprouts and were keen to see how this tasted, while others said they would definitely be doing this next year.

Creative suggestions for similar pranks were made, including leaving out orange chilli peppers and calling them mini pumpkins, or covering an egg in chocolate and telling kids it's a kinder egg.