ACCOUNTANT Ian Duckworth realised something didn't add up when he found a maggot inside a packed ham.

And he realised something was really wrong with the equation when supermarket giant Sainsburys tried to fob him off with a standard apology and a measly £10 gift voucher.

Ian, of St Clements Ave, Farington, spotted the unwanted freebie when he was making sandwiches for his two children, Roxanne, six, and Shannon, three.

To make matters worse, Ian had tucked into a ham sandwich the night before - from the same packet.

He said: "I know the maggot didn't come from my fridge because I had resealed the packet. "I just couldn't believe it when I saw it. My stomach turned. It has put me off ham for life."

Ian returned the packed to the store, where staff promised to get in contact with him. Three weeks later, the firm got back in contact, but Ian was less than impressed.

He added: "They sent out a standard apology. No thought had gone into it. A £10 voucher was enclosed.

"Considering I spend nearly £4,000 a year there I thought they could have done a bit better. Had I not been alert, it is quite possible one of my children would have eaten that maggot.

"Heaven knows how it got in there. I'm shopping at Asda now. Hopefully, they don't give away maggots."

Gillian Bridge, from Sainsburys, said: "We can only apologise for this incident.

"We take food hygiene and safety very seriously and have thoroughly investigated this incident with our supplier.

"We believe this is an isolated incident and have not received any more customer complaints. We will be in contact with Mr Duckworth again."

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