Disgust as Peterborough teenager bites into large dead bug in McDonald's burger

Connor Ribbons (15) and mum Anita could not believe their eyes when they discovered the creature after visiting the drive-thru at Glinton on Saturday night at around 10.45pm.

Anita, from Ailsworth, has called the Department of Health and Peterborough City Council’s Environmental Health department as she believes the bug may not be native and could be a health risk.

Anita recalled: “Connor said ‘there’s a bone in it mum’. He pulled out a sticky green thing which turned out to be a leg.

“I said ‘don’t worry, now and again there will be bones’. After the next bite he threw this thing out of his mouth and said ‘it’s a bug!’

“It was huge. I turned around and said let’s go back.

“I’m not squeamish but I was really quite shocked. I took it straight in and the young assistant was horrified. She said ‘you can have any meal’.

“Connor said ‘no thanks, I feel really sick’.

“The manager on duty said ‘do you want to raise a complaint?’ I said ‘yes, I definitely want this to be identified. It might carry a disease, it might have health implications. I have never seen anything like this’.”

Anita was offered a refund and free meal but does not intend to return to the restaurant. She said she has also been left frustrated at waiting to hear back on her complaint and has not been told if an investigation has been carried out.

She added: “Connor felt quite queasy at the thought of eating for a few days,

“He is not known for not eating as he does an immense amount of rowing, but he was really disgusted. A few days later he was like ‘I do not want to think about chicken’.

“There’s no way now I would not look inside a bun before I ate it.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about Ms Ribbons and Connor’s experience. Food quality and safety are of the utmost importance to us and we place great emphasis on quality control, following rigorous standards in order to avoid any imperfections.

“Ms Ribbons spoke to our restaurant team at the time and the food was immediately replaced. We subsequently attempted to make contact with Ms Ribbons a number of times and when we spoke with her advised her of the Customer Services process.”