A MAN half-way through tucking into his favourite fast food burger was appalled to find a slug lurking inside it.

The extra ingredient was not appreciated by Thornaby man Manminber Singh, who had bought a meal from Burger King on a trip to Darlington with his wife earlier today (Friday, July 19).

Mr Singh, 37, was horrified to see the creature – believed to be a slug – crawling over a piece of lettuce in his Chicken Tendercrisp burger.

He said: “I was really shocked as I really love this burger and never had anything like this happen before.

“The staff did not seem bothered and the manager just wanted to give me my money back.

“She said it was a problem with the chiller but I think it is because the place is not properly clean.

“I want health and safety people to come and lock them down.

“This might have affected my health as I have problems with my stomach and this could put me in more danger."

The burger was purchased from the Burger King restaurant in the Cornmill Centre, Darlington, which continued to serve food following the incident.

A spokeswoman from Darlington Borough Council, said: “Our Environmental Health Officers visited the outlet and have begun preliminary investigations on their food management procedures.

“From this initial visit it would appear that the slug has come in on prewashed lettuce which was then overlooked in the processing of the food order.

“There is no apparent evidence of an insect infestation. Our officers will be meeting with senior managers from the outlet early next week to discuss procedures more thoroughly.”

Tonight, a spokeswoman for Burger King UK Ltd said: "Burger King UK Ltd has been made aware of the guest's experience at Darlington Cornmill Centre restaurant.
"As a global brand, we aim to provide the highest levels of food quality and service in all restaurants so that our customers have a great experience with us every time.
"We are taking this situation very seriously and are conducting a full investigation. We greatly value customer feedback to ensure we get our service, restaurants and products right every time".