A Harpenden dad has spoken out after a finding a ‘harmful’ piece of string in a packet of peanuts his son was eating from Marks & Spencer.

Herts Advertiser: Antonio Di Giacinto's son almost swallowed a piece of string found inside a packet of M&S peanuts bought in Harpenden. Picture: Antonio Di GiacintoAntonio Di Giacinto's son almost swallowed a piece of string found inside a packet of M&S peanuts bought in Harpenden. Picture: Antonio Di Giacinto (Image: Archant)

Antonio Di Giacinto raised the alarm after claiming the ‘10-inch’ string could have choked his 11-year-old son.

He told the Herts Ad: “I was told it could be string that has come off the sack they use to contain the nuts – staff did not seem interested.

“It’s harmful, it’s about 10 inches long and it’s covered in the melted salt and sugar coating.

“My son just spat it out, but he could have choked or something. I spoke to customer services – if you look at the picture, it’s quite serious.”

A spokesman for M&S told the Herts Ad: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Di Giacinto’s experience. We have been in touch with him to provide a full refund and we are investigating with our supplier. We take food safety very seriously and we work hard to ensure our food is produced to our high quality standards.”