Day of the locust for office worker who chose salad

Berenice Baker, 46, had bought her lunch at a branch of Waitrose in Bayswater, London, but only suspected something was amiss when she skewered a particularly heavy salad leaf.

She said: “I had the plate on my desk, bit of chicken, bit of salad, bit of rice. I had one fork full of salad, which felt a bit too heavy while I was staring at my screen rather than what I was eating, and I looked down – and there it was.”

Despite appearing to have suffocated during the sealing of the £1.89 bag of Waitrose own-label watercress, rocket and spinach salad, the brown locust – which measured around 5cm (2in) – appeared to be in pristine condition, according to Mrs Baker.

She added: “I let out a bit of a squeal and everyone in the office turned around, and I said: ‘There’s a locust in my lunch.’

“While I was busy gathering myself all my colleagues hovered around my desk with their smartphones. I don’t think they’ve done any work this afternoon.”

Waitrose said: “We’re so sorry – this must have been an upsetting experience. Although an isolated case, we are investigating what could have happened.”