A BARROW mum was 'fuming' as she said she found cigarettes and ash at the bottom of her Happy Meal, which she was going to give to her one-year-old. 

Gemma Kirk-Bonner bought the meal from the McDonald's on Dalton Road. She opened the Happy Meal and took the fish fingers out to cool down before giving it to her child. 

It was then she claimed that she noticed the ash and the stub-end of a cigarette at the bottom of the box.

She said: "We noticed the cigarette end and ash on the chips and bottom of the box. Forget the toy, it now comes with cigarette end as ash for extra taste."

Gemma claimed that she rang to complain and got in touch with a manager. She said: "When I spoke to someone she said she was a manager, didn't apologise just put the phone down." 

Mark Blundell, the franchisee of the Dalton Road restaurant, said “Food safety is of the utmost importance to us, and we place great emphasis on quality control and providing the highest standard to our customers of our Barrow-in-Furness restaurant. We would encourage the customer to contact customer services so that we can properly investigate and help them find a resolution.”

READ MORE: Youths restricted from visiting Barrow McDonald's without an adult

The McDonald's in Dalton Road got a five-star food hygiene rating from Westmorland and Furness council on July 7. 

Last month, the restaurant put curbs in place to stop unruly behaviour inside its establishment and in the town centre.

Unaccompanied youths have been restricted from entering the restaurant without an adult after 5pm, and no more than two children are allowed inside after this time. 

The fast food chain described these restrictions as a temporary measure. 

A sign on the outside of the restaurant said: "Due to recent circumstances we are no longer accepting more than two youths in our store after 5pm unless accompanied by an adult.

"Please also remove any non-religious head coverings."