A MOTHER of two children has said she was horrified after she found more than a dozen drawing pins in a can of milk powder as she prepared to feed her four-month-old daughter.

Chanel Lee, 26, was preparing the Cow and Gate milk powder formula when she unsealed the packet, only to find more than a dozen gold coloured drawing pins.

She had bought the powder from the Tesco Express in Bromley Road, Colchester.

Describing the incident, Ms Lee said it was when she emptied the tub of powder that she realised just how many pins were inside.

She said: “I was making a milk bottle and put the bottle underneath the Tommee Tippee machine – as I dropped the first scoop I heard something drop into the bottle.

“I thought I would tip [the contents of the powder] out to be on the safe side.”

When Ms Lee did so, however, she found 16 gold drawing pins in the powder."

Ms Lee said she contacted Cow and Gate over the find.

“I’ve kept calling them and nobody’s getting back to me at all."

“I was on the phone for 20 minutes and got cut off completely," she said.

Ms Lee added she is now checking every tub of milk powder before she feeds it to her daughter, and explained it can be difficult to change milk formulas for young babies.

“I’ve got another one but every time I buy it I open it and tip it through a sieve to make sure.

“Other parents need to know in case they don't spot it like I did – I want other parents to be aware.”

Responding to the incident, a spokesman for Cow and Gate said: "We are very distressed to hear about this incident – once we have more details from Ms Lee, we would be happy to investigate this thoroughly.

"All our Cow and Gate baby products are x-rayed, sieved, pass through a magnetic separator and thoroughly checked before they leave the factory.

"We therefore do not believe these objects entered the product before it was sealed.

"The safety of our products is our priority.”