A Tesco on a remote Scottish island found itself with an unexpected abundance of fruit after a decimal point error led to a massive over-delivery of bananas.
Staff at the Kirkwall store on Orkney had meant to request 380kg of the fruit, but instead received 380 wholesale boxes containing 100 bananas each.
The blunder resulted in approximately 38,000 bananas, weighing close to seven tons, arriving at the weekend.
The quantity delivered was nearly double the entire population of the Scottish islands.
Under normal circumstances, the excess stock would have been shipped back to the mainland for redistribution, but severe weather conditions scuppered those plans.
Strong winds disrupted ferry services between Orkney and the Scottish mainland, leaving the store unable to return its surplus stock.
Paula Clarke, who serves as Tesco's community champion, turned to social media to find a solution.
Her appeal for help proved remarkably successful, with boxes of bananas quickly disappearing from the premises.
Bananas may be best kept in the fridge | PEXELSThe supermarket also coordinated deliveries to communities on Orkney's more remote outer islands.
A Tesco spokesman confirmed: "We received an over-order of bananas at our Kirkwall Superstore, so offered the fruit to local schools and community groups.
"All the bananas have now been redistributed to these good causes".
Local residents responded to Ms Clarke's appeal with practical advice for preserving the fruit before it spoils.
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Among the suggestions shared were recipes for banana bread, while others advised peeling and chopping the bananas before placing them in the freezer.
The community response offered islanders an unexpected opportunity to ease cost of living pressures - provided they had an appetite for the tropical fruit.
Tesco, meanwhile, ensured the windfall reached beyond Kirkwall itself, arranging for boxes to be transported to residents living on Orkney's outer islands, spreading the bounty across the archipelago.
This is not the first time an Orkney business has faced such a predicament.
The blunder occurred at Tesco, Orkney
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Two years ago, Dan Dafydd at Sinclair General Stores on the island of Sanday intended to purchase 80 Easter eggs, but accidentally ordered 80 cases.
This resulted in 720 chocolate eggs arriving on an island with roughly 500 residents.
The 39-year-old father of seven raffled 100 eggs for the RNLI, and sold 360 at cost to a local youth group after his mistake attracted worldwide attention.
Mr Dafydd described his initial “embarrassment and shame” when he realised how many eggs had arrived.
He said at the time: "I don't think conventional means is going to get rid of them. We've been thinking outside the box a little bit.
"If you won them you'd probably just give them all away, but a couple of customers were pretty set on the idea of trying to eat all 100".