A shocked shopper has told how eggs he bought from an online shop hatched into chicks during a 39-degree Celsius heatwave.

The shopper – named only as Wang in Chinese media – had bought a carton on 10 eggs and left them on his kitchen counter in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

But when he came home from work on 12th July he found that one of the eggs had hatched and another egg had a second chick breaking through its shell.

Video footage of the egg carton shows one fully hatched black chick stuck under the plastic lid.

Wang – who is now raising the chicks – said that the hot summer weather had probably helped incubate the eggs.

Mr. Wang told how the chicks were unsteady on their feet but are improving with hand rearing.

The video that went viral, attracted mixed comments, with one commentator named ‘Fight Tu Fat Tiger’ pointing out: “You are the winner, chickens are more expensive than eggs.”