A FAMILY who bit off more than they could chew during an evening meal has today slammed a sauce company for spoiling their dinner.Julie Highland, of London Road, Ipswich, cooked a tasty stir-fry for her husband Eamonn and three children, Carla, Benjamin and Jessica, but all five of them soon lost their appetites.

A FAMILY who bit off more than they could chew during an evening meal has today slammed a sauce company for spoiling their dinner.

Julie Highland, of London Road, Ipswich, cooked a tasty stir-fry for her husband Eamonn and three children, Carla, Benjamin and Jessica, but all five of them soon lost their appetites.

After a few mouthfuls Mr Highland, 37, felt something cut his mouth and found he had a sharp piece of glass in his mouth.

Moments later Carla, 16, spat out a rusty metal nail she has almost eaten.

Mrs Highland, also 37, said: "They must have come from the stir-in sauce I used because the only other ingredient was meat bought fresh from the butchers which I cut up myself.

"I didn't notice when I was cooking as the sauce was dark so when they both pulled these items out of their mouths I was gobsmacked.

"It's lucky they didn't choke."

The sauce Mrs Highland used was Sharwood's stir-fry sauce.

She said: "We had been shopping that day and were looking forward to the meal but I don't know if we will enjoy stir fries anymore.

"The tack was about an inch long and the glass half inch round with a sharp edge.

"I called the company the next day and they promised to send an envelope to send the pieces back in."

A spokesman for Centura Foods, makers of Sharwood's products, said: "We were most concerned to hear of this problem and immediately sent off a pre-paid bag so she could return the product. "Unfortunately, it seems the mail has let us down and the package did not arrive.

"Consequently we made arrangements to collect it personally so we can try and find out what has happened.

"We operate to very high standards in our factory, with strict quality controls.

"We have not received any other complaints of this nature and cannot comment further until we have the product and have conducted some urgent investigations."

Have you found an unusual object in your dinner? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk or visit the forum at www.eveningstar.co.uk