A BURNLEY newsagent was today claiming he had discovered a 'miracle' aubergine after cutting into the vegetable and finding the Arabic word for God.

Fez Mahmood, who runs a shop in Colne Road, said he was making a curry when he stumbled across the word Allah spelled out in the vegetable's seeds.

He also claims he found another vegetable with the seeds spelling Mohammed -- the Muslim prophet.

The discovery is the latest in a long line of vegetable related 'miracles' in the region.

Earlier this year, a Blackburn woman claimed she too had found the word Allah after cutting an aubergine in half.

Arshad Begum, of Leamington Road, says she was astounded to see the word written inside the vegetable and the miracle re-inforced her faith.

The word Allah has also been found in aubergines in Bolton and Manchester.

Last year the Lancashire Evening Telegraph featured an Accrington woman who cut a tomato in half to find the word Allah written inside, and a Preston man was pictured with a leek with the same inscription.

Fez, 28, said: "I was preparing the family meal when I cut into the aubergine and I just could not believe what I saw.

"There was the name of Allah staring up at me in the seeds. I was gobsmacked.

"Something like this is hugely significant, because Allah is our God.

"It is a miracle. I'm planning to keep the aubergines and get them framed."

However, despite Fez's excitement at the find, sceptics have poured cold water on his claims.

One Islamic reader said: "I'm afraid this doesn't really look very much like the word Allah at all. The shape is wrong and the symbols are in the wrong formation. I have actually seen an aubergine with seeds that look like the word Allah, but this isn't it."