Garry Jones contaminated dozens of products - such as tubs of hummus and salad dressings - with items including rubber gloves, plastic bags and metal ring pulls, while employed as a picker at Harvey & Brockless Fine Food Company.

The manufacturing firm based in Evesham, Worcestershire, supplies large quantities of food, including sauces and dips, to restaurants around the country.

Jones was jailed for 42 months at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday after previously admitting to tampering with products used in restaurants and a separate charge of burglary, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The 38-year-old worked on the late shift as a factory worker and was responsible for collecting all the ingredients for the next day's cooking.

CCTV cameras captured Jones - when he was alone - tampering with tubs of hummus and salad dressings and mixing an unknown substance into raw ingredients.

He was arrested on 10 November last year and told West Midlands Police officers he had combined fish sauce with soy sauce on one occasion.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Mehree Kamranfar said: "This was an extremely disturbing case that could have had far-reaching implications had the defendant not been caught.

"Jones knowingly and maliciously contaminated food products that were going to be distributed to some of the most popular high street restaurants across the country.

"The cross-contamination caused alarm both within the company and externally, as Jones's utter disregard, particularly in mixing fish sauce with raw ingredients, could have threatened serious harm to those with allergies.

"In addition, sabotaging the food products supplied by Harvey & Brockless not only cost the firm thousands of pounds, it also threatened to destroy the company's reputation."

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The prosecutor said Jones pleaded guilty to the charges after facing "overwhelming evidence".

The burglary charge came after Jones broke into a colleague's house through a window and stole a pink hairbrush.