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Mars Bar from 1991 found – and it's 20g bigger than today's

Eleanor MaslinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Victoria Gordon A Mars Bar from 1991 and a modern-day one held next to each other. The old Mars Bar is considerably bigger.Victoria Gordon

Now and then... the 1991 Mars Bar alongside one from today

A 35-year-old Mars Bar has been found during a house clearance – and the discovery has gone viral amid claims it highlights the effect of "shrinkflation".

The chocolate bar with a best-before date of 1991 was found during a clear-out of a house in Scunthorpe.

Victoria Gordon, who runs the cleaning service, posted a photo on social media of the 62.5g bar alongside one of today's Mars Bars, which is 40g.

"It was nearly as big as my hand, which was kind of why I noticed it," she said.

Victoria Gordon A woman holding up the old Mars Bar. She is wearing a navy vest and has red hair tied up with a full fringe.Victoria Gordon

Victoria Gordon found the old Mars Bar on 5 August

Speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Gordon said: "We were clearing out a hoarder's house and everything we were rooting through was decades old.

"This Mars Bar stood out to me because as I picked it up it was nearly the whole length of my hand.

"I was like, 'Wow, look at the size of that!'"

A Mars spokesperson said: "Over the last 35 years, we have made a number of updates to our bar sizes and pack formats to reflect consumer demand, alongside considering wider external factors such as manufacturing costs and the price of cocoa."

Supplied A woman in white overalls and orange gloves as well as a white mask is standing in a room full of cardboard and rubbish. She has her hands on her hips and her dark hair is tied up.Supplied

The chocolate was found during a house clearance

Gordon, who runs Pocket Rockets, is not sure what she will do with the bar, but she said she might be sitting on a "gold mine".

"I do post some hoarding videos but I've never had anything go this viral," she said.

"It's so fascinating what people find so interesting. I almost put it in the skip [but] I might do a UK tour with it."