By Duncan Bick

Last updated at 14:31, Friday, 07 December 2012

A man who says he almost choked to death while eating a chocolate biscuit has hit-out at the compensation he was given, saying: “my life’s worth more then £50”.

Stuart Gass

Stuart Gass was stunned to find he almost swallowed a plastic mould used to make the Breakaway bar he had bitten into.

He became concerned when he felt something strange in his mouth while eating it at his home on Westmorland Street in Denton Holme, Carlisle.

Mr Gass, 46, said: “I tried to swallow it and it just would not go down.”

He then began trying to cough the article back up but to no avail.

“I was on my last breath so I had to stick my fingers down my throat and throw it up.”

What emerged was a small plastic disc.

Mr Gass, who works as a security officer, later found out that this was part of the plastic mould used to make the biscuits.

He said the experience was traumatic.

“If a child or an OAP had swallowed it, I don’t think they would be here now.”

After the event he saw his doctor, but thankfully has not suffered any lasting injury.

He wrote to the bar’s manufacturer, Nestle, about the incident ant send them the disc, asking for compensation for what had happened.

However, he was unhappy when they replied with an offer of £50 and a hamper of food.

“So that’s what they think your life is worth,” he said.

Mr Gass has since taken his case to a lawyer, who has sent a letter to Nestle asking for more compensation as a gesture of goodwill.

A spokesman for the confectionery giant said: “We are very concerned about this isolated incident and sorry for the distress caused to Mr Gass.

“We can reassure him we have taken the issue very seriously.

“Nestle has very strict health, safety and quality procedures and we have conducted a full investigation and concluded the piece of plastic is part of the mould used to make Breakaway.

“We are putting in place actions to prevent any recurrence, although we believe this to be an isolated incident.

“We are in contact with Mr Gass and by way of an apology, we have offered him and his family a gift which we hope will go some way towards making up for what has happened.”

First published at 14:07, Friday, 07 December 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk