A heavily pregnant woman allergic to wasp stings was left terrified after finding the insect still alive in a supermarket's ready-to-eat salad.

Hannah Bull, of Robertson Road, Brighton, was half way through the Tesco salad bowl when she was shocked to find a wasp.

The 28-year-old, who is 39 weeks pregnant and allergic to wasp stings, said she was terrified at the thought of being seconds away from something which could potentially harm her and her baby.

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Her husband, Ben, 29, said: “She jumped up and almost gave birth. She felt physically sick and nearly threw up. The wasp had a wing and legs missing so she might have eaten them.

“Had she been stung, it could have harmed her and our baby because she is allergic. My wife used to love eating pre-packed salads but we will never touch one again.”

The couple bought the £2 salad from the superstore on Church Road, Hove, on Monday.

They said that at first it appeared to be dead, which could still have been dangerous with wasp stings still venomous even after death, however it then suddenly came back to life.

Mr Bull said: “We just want an honest response from Tesco.

“It's doubtful that the salad had been washed properly. It's not right for big companies to waive this issue off as a one off. We would like health inspectors to check their packaging plant and quality control methods.”

After finding the wasp, Mr Bull phoned Tesco's customer service helpline where an advisor asked for them to bring in the salad for investigation.

Tesco also offered to refund the item and give the couple a £5 voucher as a gesture of goodwill.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We set ourselves very high standards for the safety and quality of our food so we were concerned to hear of this incident. We are currently investigating and will keep Mr Bull informed of our findings. We have also offered him a gesture of goodwill for any inconvenience.”