AN investigation has been launched into the mysterious death of a man who had found shards of glass in a sausage he was eating just days earlier.

Police have refused to rule out a connection between the death of 23-year-old Darren Gleadow and a complaint he made about finding glass in a sausage made by one of the region's largest factories.

An environmental health inquiry is under way and bosses at Malton Foods, in North Yorkshire, said they had also launched their own investigation into the incident.

The factory is trying to establish how the glass came to be found in sausages made for Somerfield and sold at a Kwik Save store in Mr Gleadow's home city of Hull.

But a spokeswoman said she could not comment on whether Mr Gleadow had died as a direct result of eating one of the factory's sausages until the cause of death had been established.

Humberside Police said a post-mortem examination carried out yesterday had proved inconclusive and the results of further medical tests were expected within the next three weeks.

In a statement released yesterday, Uniq plc, which owns Malton Foods, said: "We were extremely sorry to hear of the premature death of Darren Gleadow.

"A complaint had recently been received about one of our products which is being fully investigated. All our factories operate to the highest EU standards and to strict safe working practices in all production areas.

"We are not able to make any further statement until the cause of Mr Gleadow's death has been established."

It is understood that Mr Gleadow, a former pupil of William Gee School in west Hull, had been planning to launch his own record label with a friend and had applied to the Prince's Trust for financial support.

A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said it would have no involvement in food safety issues and would be leaving the matter to local environmental health officials.