A mum who nearly served pancakes to her son before noticing they were sprinkled with mouse droppings is asking for the products to be removed from supermarket shelves.

Parvin Gazi said her "world was turned upside down" when she made the grim discovery in a packet of Co-Op own brand pancakes at breakfast time on July 1.

The 42-year-old, who has two twin boys aged six, explained: "I took it out the pack and put it on the plate as usual and I was about to put it in the microwave. 

"I realised there were unusual bits on it. When I looked closer I couldn’t believe what I saw."

She added: "My world was turned upside down. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to scream but I kept calm."

Mrs Gazi said she was determined not to distress son Kemal, who will only eat pancakes for breakfast, taking her boys off to school as usual before returning home for a closer inspection.

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She said: "I could see it was mouse droppings. I even showed it to the neighbours and asked them ‘is it right what I’m seeing?’"

Mrs Gazi, who bought the food from a Co-Op store in Hither Green Lane, contacted the head office that morning.

She explained the company promised to send someone around the following day to pick the pancakes up and carry out an investigation.

But she told News Shopper: "I’ve asked them to recall these products off the shelves as soon as possible.

"The thing is, I’m a full-time working mum. 

"If I was working this morning my husband would have microwaved them and given them to my kids to eat. It could have caused them serious danger.

"With a big company like this you would think hygiene would be number one for them.

"I don’t think it’s their fault, it’s the supplier. The packaging looked fine and everything else is in perfect condition."

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And she added: "My son is a pancake lover. He’s a chubby bubby who loves his pancakes.

"But it’s definitely put me off. There’s no way I’m going to keep cooking my children pancakes, even M&S or anywhere else now. I wouldn’t trust them."

A spokesman for The Co-operative Food said: "We are committed to working closely with our suppliers in order to provide consistently high quality products for all our customers. 

"The supplier and ourselves are investigating the product and are in contact with the customer to resolve the matter."