A hungry Alabama police officer was shocked when he found a large metal bolt inside his fast food sandwich.

Birmingham Police sergeant Patrick Cosby went through the drive-thru at an Arby's last Thursday during a night shift to tuck into a roast beef sandwich.

The cop told Alabama.com he paid for his meal - which included the sandwich, a drink, and other food - and drove back to his precinct. He then unwrapped the sandwich and took a bit, chomping down hard on the bolt.

'I pulled back and spit it out and looked into the sandwich. There's a massive bolt laying there. I'm kind of in shock,' Cosby told the newspaper.

An Alabama police officer was shocked when he found a large metal bolt (pictured) inside a sandwich he bought from Arby's

The cop then accused the person who made his sandwich of putting the bolt in his food on purpose.

'I'm playing this out in my head... I wondered if it was intentionally done,' he said.

'I feel like it was intentional. What are the chances it was an officer that got the one-inch bolt in his sandwich?

'If I were making a sandwich at home, I'd know if a 1-inch bolt was in there.'

The cop, who is vocal politically on Facebook and routinely attacks 'the left' and 'liberals', sent a picture of the bolt to his wife, who shared it on social media.

'Patrick got a little something extra with his Arby's sandwich tonight,' 27-year-old Angela Cosby wrote.

The picture showed the bolt nestled inside the roast beef sandwich, which the cop had taken a bit out of.

Cosby's mother, Katie Rouse, also shared the image on Facebook, but took it a step further by blaming 'Black Lives Matter' for putting the bolt in her son's meal.

Birmingham Police sergeant Patrick Cosby (pictured with his wife, Angela) went through the drive-thru at an Arby's last Thursday to buy the sandwich he later found had a bolt inside

Angela Cosby posted about the incident last Thursday, while also sharing a picture of the sandwich

She also repeatedly commented it was an intentional act, despite that allegation being denied by the store.

Cosby's wife contacted Arby's to make a formal complaint, and was told the chain's national office would be in touch with them.

On Saturday, Cosby was called by a regional supervisor, who said they did not believe the bolt was put in the sandwich on purpose and instead fell into the meat from a malfunctioning meat cutter, according to Alabama.com.

A vice-president with the company then reached out to Cosby who apologized for the incident, but explained again the bolt fell off a cutter.

The cop, seemingly unimpressed with what he viewed as a lack of justice, then took his complaint to the Birmingham Police Department, the FDA, and the Jefferson County Health Department.

He told Alabama.com the Health Department visited the store, and also reached the same conclusion the bolt came off a damaged cutter and unintentionally wound up in his food.