A lunchtime diner at McDonald’s got more grub than she bargained for when she pulled this hairy black caterpillar from her Big Mac.

Kayleigh Henley was about to tuck into a burger bought from the drive-through at the Monkswood Way Retail Park restaurant in Stevenage last Thursday when she found the larva in the salad.

“This may sound weird, but I like my burgers to look neat, so I pick the lettuce off that’s hanging over the edge,” the 21-year-old of Bedwell said. “I was lucky. I pulled the lettuce out before eating it. It was all curled up and dead.”

Kayleigh, who used to work in the town centre McDonald’s, took the uneaten food back to staff inside the restaurant.

“They said did I want a free meal, and I said no thanks, I’ll have my money back.

“My friend was in the car, she had already eaten hers. We both felt sick,” she added.

She said the experience has put her off the burger chain and has vowed not to go back.

A McDonald’s spokesman apologised for the incident.

She said: “We are very sorry that we did not live up to our usual high standards of food quality and safety. We have now launched an urgent investigation into this incident.”