A Penge father has claimed he found a four-inch sewing needle in a Sainsbury’s stir-fry- a meal he was sharing with his three-year-old daughter.

Rhyce Wickenden visited Sainsbury’s in the High Street on March 1 with his fiancé and bought three packets of the vegetable stir-fry.

Mr Wickenden, 23, said: “We brought it home and cooked it.

“While we were eating I felt a prick on my tongue.

“I pulled half a threading needle out of my mouth.

“Then I started to panic because I couldn’t find the other half and thought I had swallowed it.”

Luckily Mr Wickenden found the other half in the food but was extremely concerned that it was there in the first place.

He said: “To make matters worse my three-year-old daughter was sharing that food- imagine if she had swallowed it.”

“I called Sainsbury’s and all they offered was an apology and a refund- after I found a four-inch needle in my food.

“They can’t be allowed to do this.”

He has reported the incident to the Food Standards Agency and Bromley Council, and has also called his GP.

The concerned dad said: “I made a doctor’s appointment because I was pricked with that needle- you don’t know where it’s been.

“And that could have been my daughter.”

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “We have apologised to Mr Wickenden.

“Incidents like this are extremely rare and we will investigate with our supplier.”