A mother was left horrified to find a sewing needle in baby milk she was preparing for her six-week-old daughter.

Little Shakayla had already had a bottle made up with the Cow & Gate anti-reflux formula when Julie Wakeling discovered the metal spike.

It was a new tin she said she had bought only half-an-hour earlier from a Sittingbourne supermarket.

Shocked, the 26-year-old made a complaint and returned the product - with the needle still inside - to the company.

The mother-of-three, of North Street, Milton Regis, said: "She was still hungry so I went back to the kitchen to make up another three ounces for her.

"It was as I did the last scoop I noticed something shiny.

"I moved the formula away with the scoop and then I could see it was a needle.

"I was worried because I had already fed her with some it from the tin.

"My main fear was that it was a contaminated needle. What I was scared of was what if it had HIV on it?

"I'm concerned other tins may have been contaminated and would warn other mums to be on the look out. What if it had gone in the bottle and pierced the teat and hurt her mouth?"

Suzanne Kingsberry, quality affairs manager for Danone Baby Nutrition UK, which makes the product, said: "We were concerned to hear from Miss Wakeling.

"We have not yet seen the product in question, however, we are keen to fully investigate this complaint and have arranged for the product to be returned to us for a full examination.

"Once we have had the opportunity to investigate we will contact Miss Wakeling with our findings."

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She added: "We can reassure parents that this is an isolated incident and we have not received any similar complaints for any other Cow & Gate product.

"Cow & Gate are committed to manufacturing high-quality baby foods and parents can continue to use our products with confidence."

What do you think? Have you ever found anything in your food that should not have been there? Join the debate by leaving a comment below.

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