Needles hidden in strawberries

STRAWBERRY growers in Australia have introduced metal detectors after needles were found hidden in the fruit.

Fears about the sabotage have spread across the country, with needles found in strawberries in all six Australian states, and New Zealand.

Six brands – none of which is imported to Britain – have been recalled. No injuries have been reported but Adrian Schultz of the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association said what had started as a single act of ‘commercial terrorism’ had brought a multi-milliondollar industry to its knees.

The government of Queensland, where the scare started last week, has offered a £55,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit.