A SALES executive was stunned to find part of a craft knife blade in her takeaway lunch today.

Lynda Cox, who works for the Northern Echo in Durham, ordered a steak and kidney pie with chips and peas from Ash Kebab House nearby.

But after biting into her pie she felt something sharp as she swallowed and rushed to the toilet to cough up the mouthful.

Further inspection revealed a piece of metal around one centimetre by half a centimetre, that looks like part of a craft knife blade.

Mrs Cox, 54, from Bishop Auckland, said: “It may have cut my throat. It is sore but I am going to wait and see how I feel.

“I can’t imagine what it would have done to my stomach and intestine if it did not come back up.

“What if a child had swallowed it?”

A call to the takeaway revealed the pie was supplied by Taylors of Shotton, who in turn bought the pie from Bakers (Area 1) at Langley Moor, near Durham.

No-one was available to comment at Ash Kebab House, but Lisa Baker, from Taylors, said: “We buy them in so we do not know this has happened. We have never come across anything like this.”

The Northern Echo contacted Bakers (Area 1) and a spokesman said the company was a wholesaler and not the manufacturer.

He said an investigation was underway to establish the supplier, adding: “We will be going down the supply chain to find out who the manufacturer was.”