‘I found a large blade in a Happy Meal toy at McDonald's'

McDonald’s said it was “extremely concerned” and has launched a “full and thorough” investigation following the complaint in Brighton.

Joanna Hillary, 29, took her daughter Lilly, 3, to the restaurant in Western Road yesterday morning.

She went to give her daughter a David Walliams book called Stacey Superstar which had previously been given out in Happy Meals.

She said: “We ordered our breakfast and sat down. My daughter saw the book from her Happy Meal on a high chair tray. I said she could open it after she had eaten her food. I opened the sealed bag with the book inside it and out fell a large snap blade on our food tray.”

She says it was a “large snap blade”, similar in size and looks to the one pictured below.

McDonald’s said it recognised the “serious nature of the situation”.

The shaken mother said: “I just honestly cannot believe this has happened.

“For that to fall out of a book right in front of you – I couldn’t sleep.

“It’s shocking and I just want to get the word out there.”

Ms Hillary said the staff leave toys and activities for the children laid out – normally previous toys from Happy Meals.

The family went into the restaurant after taking their car to the garage at about 8.30am.

After the object fell out, she immediately took it “in a rage” to the restaurant’s manager.

She claims the manager was also in shock and the “large snap blade” was passed over to staff.

Ms Hillary did not take a picture of the blade itself.

The horrified mother said she was told the chain are now “in the process of taking these toys from their meals”.

Ms Hillary added: “This is a place where you go to get something quick for your child as a treat.

“This could have been a different ball game if an innocent baby had put this in their mouth at the high chair. It’s terrible and disgusting that this found its way in there.

“I don’t believe that all the proper checks have been done.”

McDonald’s said it was looking into the restaurant and its supplier to work out where the object came from.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “We were extremely concerned to be made aware of this and have launched a full and thorough investigation with the restaurant and supplier.

“We recognise the serious nature of this situation and would like to apologise to and reassure the customer that we are doing everything we can to understand what happened.”