A food company has been fined almost £10,000 after a vegetarian bit into two cheese pasties only to find them full of meat.

Julie Elliott, a nurse from Lancing, becomes ill if she eats meat because of a dietary condition.

The vegetarian bought a pack of four frozen Freshbake cheese and onion pasties from a Co-op store in Lancing but instead of containing cheese, onion and potato as stated on the packet, the pastry savouries were actually Cornish pasties filled with beef, lamb and vegetables.

She complained to the producers Freshbake Foods of Salford, Greater Manchester, who label their products as "trusted family food".

The company assured her the mistake was a one-off.

Three months later, in May, Mrs Elliott bought some more cheese pasties but yet again on sinking her teeth in, she was left with a nasty taste in her mouth when she discovered chunks of meat inside.

She reported the incidents to West Sussex County Council trading standards and samples were sent for analysis. They were also found to contain a filling of meat and vegetables.

Patrick Bligh-Cheesman, head of trading standards, said: "In this instance it is a clear case of the producer taking insufficient precautions when packing the food to put the correct product in the right box.

"In the case of vegetarian food, this could have disastrous repercussions for someone who must not eat meat for medical reasons."

Freshbake admitted on Wednesday offences under the Food Safety Act in both West Sussex and Northamptonshire, where a consumer had experienced the same problem.

The company was fined £9,500 with £787 costs at Kettering Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to three offences.