A mother opened a loaf of bread bought at a Tesco store to make a sandwich for her 10-year-old – only to discover it contained a blood-covered needle used by a heroin-taking grandfather.
The mother had taken two slices from the pack of Roberts wholemeal bread – which she had bought from the Tesco Express in Pendlebury, Greater Manchester – when she made the shocking discovery.
The needle had been pushed through the plastic wrapper by David Rodgers, 61, when he visited the shop with his wife, in a desperate attempt to avoid her finding out he was back on the drug.
Rodgers had already used the needle for a heroin fix before he hid it in the bread last December.
The mother, who bought the loaf later that day, was left ‘alarmed and distressed’ when she noticed the syringe while making the sandwich for her son, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.
Regrettably, Tesco may get more bad press from this, but quite undeservedly so. However, it does serve to highlight the ever present risk of sharps exposure often in the most unlikely of locations.