‘A metal screw in my wife’s pizza chipped her tooth'

A couple were disgusted to find a metal screw wedged in the cheese on their takeaway pizza which chipped one of their teeth.

Mike and Steph Lawson were tucking into their Friday night dinner when Steph, 34, discovered the screw.

She abruptly spat out her first bite of pizza after biting into the foreign object.

But the damage was done as the pair had to fork out £73 to repair her chipped tooth, something Pizza Hut “refuse to acknowledge” four weeks on.

The pair ordered pizzas for them and their daughter Alice, five, on September 27 from Pizza Hut in Gosport.

The screw found in Steph Lawson's pizza from Pizza Hut, Gosport (Image: Mike Lawson) Mike said he has since been embroiled in a battle with the national pizza chain for compensation and an explanation for where the screw came from.

He said: “When Steph spat the screw out, my first instinct was to check our daughter’s pizza.

“Luckily, we didn’t find anything, but we phoned the Pizza Hut branch in Gosport.

“I was offered another pizza, but we did not want one.

“Later I decided to contact Pizza Hut directly rather than contact the local branch to tell them what happened.

“They responded quickly and asked me to explain what happened, but they have fobbed me off ever since.”

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He added: “In the time we were waiting for a response, Steph went to the dentist to have her chipped tooth repaired.”

Mike said emails were sent and promises made by Pizza Hut, but the chain never explained why or how the incident happened.

Mike and Steph Lawson (Image: Mike Lawson) He said: “I have really tried to be patient and did not want to post about it online, but Pizza Hut just does not care.

“They’ve had nearly four weeks to sort this out. No one from Pizza hut has even come to collect the screw.

“If my daughter had eaten it, I can’t even begin to imagine what damage there would have been.

“Now that I have posted about the incident on Facebook, I’ve expected someone from Pizza hut to get in touch, but they have not.

“Pizza Hut easily could have buried this by apologising and paying for my wife’s dental treatment."

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut: “We can confirm that there has been a thorough investigation with the franchise operator, and the customer in question has received a full refund.

"Pizza Hut is committed to fully investigating incidents like this to ensure the health and safety of our customers, which remains our utmost priority."