In one of the strangest pieces of news for you to digest before the weekend officially begins, a piece of bone has been discovered in a Primark sock.
As of yet authorities have been unable to confirm where the bone came from, who it belongs to or how it came to be in a store typically favoured by those who have found themselves in urgent need of a coin purse branded with Lefou or some own-brand invisibobbles, but one thing is for certain, it is (shudder) human.
If your stomach is strong enough to read on, here is everything we know at the moment. The bone was found in Primark's Colchester branch in Essex. Without further testing police are unable to confirm it's age or it's origin. They have, however, assured the public that it is not the 'result of a recent trauma' given there was no skin or other particles surrounding it. Representatives from Primark have also been quick to assure it's customers that they believe the discovery to be the result of a hoax. today a representative from the brand said 'No evidence of any kind exists to suggest that any incident has occurred in the factory, so it is highly probable that this object was placed in the socks by an individual for unknown reasons.'
Yes; you read that correctly. The front-running theory is that there is a vigilante prankster who is going to the trouble of secreting human remains inside affordable hosiery in Primark's factories. 'Primark clearly takes this matter very seriously and has already carried out an investigation at our supplier’s factory where the socks were made.' the spokesperson said.
If this is the deliberate joke of one individual, then it wouldn't be the first time they've used socks to send a message. In December 2015, letters began appearing in Primark's socks which appeared to be SOS appeals from factory workers in China. One which was written in Mandarin claimed to be from a 39 year old slave worker who wrote that he had been falsely accused of fraud and imprisoned. Another appeared in a store in Newcastle which seemed to have been written by a 39 year old man. Shankiel Akbar, who discovered the note said 'It seemed like he was risking a lot to try and get a message out. He said he had endured physical and psychological abuse and that he was forced to make these socks.'
In this instance, Primark was also quick to pinpoint the origin of the notes as a hoax, with a spokesperson saying 'The Primark name is being used to gain publicity for the plight of this individual. We have found no link at all between this individual and any of our suppliers’ factories in China, we think it is likely that the note was added after production and it is feasible it was added in transit or at a port.'
In 2014, clothes also appeared on the stores shelves with what appeared to be distress labels sewn in that were later proven to be false. But this would be the mark the first occasion in which a worker has gone to the trouble of putting a human bone into one of Primark's garments. The spokesperson for the store has 'Primark has been the subject of isolated incidents in the past which have subsequently been found to have been hoaxes. The factory has been used by other retailers and the subject of many audits over many years. Primark sincerely apologises to the customer who found the item for any distress caused.'