Workers at Macdale Windows and Joinery were monkeying around and enjoying their morning tea break when one of them reached for his favourite morning snack – a tasty banana.

But little did Sam Owen know what he was about to sink his teeth into.

The 20-year-old, a production manager at the Holyoake Road-based firm, explained: "It was brew time in the morning and I sat down to eat the banana. It was a bit old but it looked fine.

"But then I bit into it and it didn't feel right at all.

"I saw that there was this bullet embedded in it. I couldn't believe it.
"It's about the strangest thing that's ever happened to me."

Sam, who lives on Staining Old Road, Staining, bit into a 6mm pellet – the type used by BB guns.

Thankfully he escaped unscathed by the experience, only to then find out just how lucky he had been.

His dad, David Owen, boss at Macdale, cut up two other bananas from the bunch bought from Sainsbury's in Red Bank Road, Bispham, and – in front of Gazette cameras – found two more small pieces of ammo.

David, who is a Staining Parish councillor, said he feared other people might choke if there were other bullet-laden bananas on sale.

He said: "There could be hundreds of these out there because presumably they have come in as part of a large batch.

"I'm not implying that it's Sainsbury's fault but I'd like to know where they came from.

"Surely they need to have an investigation into it because someone else could bite into one or even choke."

Sam, also a keen cricketer with Blackpool CC, wrote to Sainsbury's customer service bosses telling them of his distress, saying he was "horrified" to bite into the ball bearing.

Sainsbury's responded by asking Sam to send the bananas and ammo back to them so they could investigate in order to maintain their "high standards."

Store bosses were unavailable for further comment.