A severed rat’s head was discovered in a bag of frozen spinach as one unsuspecting Wycombe woman prepared dinner for her family.

Terri Powis was cooking a meal after a long day at work when she looked in her steamer to find the decapitated rodent in a lump of spinach.

Initially unsure what she was looking at, it soon dawned on the 33-year-old that it was the face of a squashed rat, which she now believes was a baby.

Ms Powis purchased the spinach from Asda, in Holmers Farm Way, High Wycombe.

The Booker Lane resident said: “I grabbed a handful [of spinach] and chucked it in my steamer to cook.

“I was in a hurry. I was late in trying to get dinner sorted. Everything else was almost cooked. I opened the lid of the steamer just to check it was cooked and there was something in the middle of the lump of spinach.

“To me, at the time, I didn’t have any idea what it was because I could see the severed side of the head. It was face down. I could just see pink.

“You run through your head what it might be. I thought it might be some pink-coloured beans. I couldn’t work out what it was.

“It took me a while to realise. [It was] only when I flipped it over and looked at it from a different angle that I could see quite clearly that there were teeth and a nose. Then it dawned on me.

“It’s hard to explain [how I felt] I was just in complete shock because you know what you found but you almost can’t believe what you just found.”

She added: “It’s not the thing you expect to happen – especially from a huge brand like Asda. I had a couple of people to say to me ‘these things happen’. But they shouldn’t happen.”

The accounts assistant made the shocking discovery on January 19, having purchased the product just days earlier.

Ms Powis said she thought the animal looked like it was a baby.

She added: “It’s made in batches so for me I just can’t stop thinking it’s not just the rat in there, what about droppings and other bodily fluids, like urine.”

Ms Powis handed the rat’s head over to Wycombe District Council’s Environmental Health team which is investigating the situation with Asda.

Ms Powis said she is not satisfied with Asda’s reaction following the discovery.

She said: “I wanted it removed off the shelves and if I had an apology in writing then that probably would have been the end of it, but they have dealt with it so badly.”

An Asda spokesperson said: “We are working closely with the local authorities and will be conducting a thorough investigation.”