Man's 'secret' Mars bar causes online storm that led manufacturers to issue him £2 voucher

A chocolate fan who unwrapped a rare smooth Mars bar on his way to Birmingham has been compensated £2 for the find - but the company won't say how it happened. Harry Seager, 34, became an internet sensation when he posted a picture of a Mars Bar with a completely smooth chocolate shell to the Dull Men's Club page on Facebook.

The group's thousands of members were shocked to see the fan-favourite bar without its trademark surface ripples, with one social media user even branding the snack "hideous". Mr Seager had picked up the bar at a service station while travelling with friends to a classic car show in Birmingham, and, left bemused, wrote to Mars looking for answers as to how the unusual appearance came about.

But he was left without answers and the unexpected recipient of £2 in compensation.

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Speaking to the BBC, Mr Seager, from Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, said he only wanted to know what "might have caused it to happen". He added: "That is all I wanted to know and they kept side-lining that question." Mr Seager also revealed how he planned to spend his £2, which he received via voucher.

He said: "I think £2 is great, it will be two free Mars bars. Maybe they could have sent me more but I’m not being ungrateful. I think it’s amazing after everything that’s happened that I got the £2 voucher." A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley was tight lipped on what left the Mars bar ripple-less, saying they couldn't "reveal all the secrets behind our product line".

They said: "With over 2.5 million Mars Bars produced daily at our Slough factory it seems this has slipped through without its signature flourish. While we can’t reveal all the secrets behind our product line, we can promise fans that these smooth Mars Bars are a rare find and the classic swirl isn’t going away."

Some social media users commenting on Mr Seager's Facebook post attempted to offer a little more insight into the process behind manufacturing the bars - and what might have caused the irregularity. He said he was told the chocolates go through an "enrober" which shapes their characteristic covering.

He said: "A few people who used to work at Mars’ factories commented [on Facebook] and they said it goes through a machine called an enrober, which is like the waterfall the bars go through. Apparently they get blown with air along the top as it comes out of that waterfall. Apparently there’s meant to be somebody at the end who removes the ones which haven’t been hit by the air."