A story about a teenager being addicted to something usually paves the way for cheerless news copy offering a damning indictment on modern-day Britain.
But the Basingstoke Gazette reports on 17-year-old James Hutcheon, who requires a daily fix of Brussels sprouts.
James, an aeronautical engineer apprentice from Baughurst in Hampshire, buys a bag of 100 sprouts each week, and even enjoys them in sandwiches at lunch-time.
He told the Gazette: “I just love the taste, and I have them with most of my meals. I like them with curries. I try to avoid them at lunchtime, though, as there wouldn’t be a nice smell!”
His mother Lynne, meanwhile, told the paper: “He’s training to shoot for the Great Britain shooting squad, so sprouts are very good for him. They have all sorts of vitamins.”
The mother-of-three noted that James' sisters abhor the opinion-dividing vegetable, but added: “I love them, and so does my husband.”
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