WHEN Bob Wales tucked into a bar of fruit and nut he bit off more than he could chew.

Hidden among the contents of the chocolate bar was a cross shaped piece of plastic, which almost choked him.

The 63-year-old former miner, from Quaking Houses, Stanley, County Durham, said it was the size of a 20 pence piece.

“I was lucky to get it out of my throat because it is cross shaped.

“If it had been a young girl or a little lad it might have been fatal. 

“I got my fingers in and yanked it out but it cut my throat.”

Mr Wales has called and written to the manufacturer, Cadbury, to complain following the incident in February.

He got a reply back from Jane Potts in consumer relations, which said: “The risk of malicious contamination always has to be considered in these cases.

“In this case there is no reason to suspect that has occurred.

“As I am sure you appreciate, it is extremely difficult to establish the occurrence of malicious or deliberate contamination and the opportunity for doing this is extremely limited given the automated process and covering of the line.

“We are therefore at a loss to explain how this item came to be in the product.”

Mr Wales said he would have appreciated an apology.

He said: “I nearly choked to death. I don’t want anything from them but they could have said sorry.”

Mr Wales has now raised the matter with North Durham MP Kevan Jones.

Mr Jones said: “The way they have dealt with it has been appalling.”

No-one at Cadbury was available for comment.