Mother finds two-inch needle pushed into Bernard Matthews Golden Drummer

• Company believes meal was 'maliciously sabotaged'


• Pin dropped on to plate as mother served turkey to daughter

By Kerry Mcqueeney

Last updated at 2:17 PM on 25th January 2012

A mother found a two-inch sewing needle inside a Bernard Matthews turkey drummer as she made dinner for her young daughter.

Kelly Brettingham, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, was dishing up the meal for one-year-old Elise when the sharp pin dropped onto the plate.

It is thought the food had been deliberately tampered with after analysis of the box found two small holes in it.

When Mrs Brettingham contacted Bernard Matthews, the company said it believed the meal had been 'maliciously sabotaged'.

'Horrified': Kelly Brettingham, pictured with her children Elise (left) and Hollie, was dishing up the meal when the sharp pin dropped onto the plate

The 29-year-old, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, said: 'I'm horrified that someone would do this to food.

'I was grilling the drummers and was dishing them up onto Elise's plate when the pin dropped out, it must have been stuck in the breadcrumbs.

'I was so shocked because Elise could easily have eaten it.

'How incredibly dangerous and thoughtless to deliberately put a sewing needle into a turkey drummer which is clearly going to get eaten.

'It's put me off ever giving my kids any frozen food in the future because you can't trust that it hasn't been tampered with.

'It was just lucky my daughter didn't swallow the needle.'

'Maliciously sabotaged': An examination of the packaging revealed two small perforations in the side seam, according to Bernard Matthews

Mrs Brettingham, who also has a four-month-old daughter Hollie, bought the 340g bag of Bernard Matthews Gold Turkey Drummers from her local Tesco in Chesterfield.

She made the shock discovery four days later as she prepared Elise's dinner.

After contacting Bernard Matthews she posted the needle and the bag to the firm's headquarters in Norwich for examination.

A letter from Bernard Matthews stated: 'Close examination of the packaging did reveal two small aperture perforations close to a side seam.

'Although it is not possible to be absolutely certain it is conceivable that a needle like object may have been pushed through the bag and created the perforation.

'With this in mind it is our opinion that the most likely explanation in this case is that someone has maliciously sabotaged the bag you purchased.

'This may have happened some time after leaving our factory and up to the point that you purchased the drummers.'

Mrs Brettingham and her husband Mark, a 31-year-old engineer, were offered £25 of Bernard Matthews vouchers as compensation.

However, the mother - who is a secretary in a law firm - added: 'I am disgusted that they [Bernard Matthews] think they can buy me off for £25.

'The thought of eating anything from there makes my stomach churn.'

Source : dailymail

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