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A Hull man says a sandwich company is "ripping off the NHS" because an egg salad sandwich for his poorly wife did not have enough egg in it.

Carl Simpson said his wife Maria, who is currently a patient at Hull Royal Infirmary, was looking forward to eating the sandwich she ordered through the hospital's catering team because her condition means she can rarely eat solid food.

But Carl, of Logan Close, east Hull, said Maria was so disappointed by the lack of egg she "didn't eat for the rest of the day".

He said: “She’s had so many operations in the past and has no bowel so is mostly fed through a tube, but she really fancied a sandwich and was looking forward to eating that one.

"But there wasn't anything in it.

"It really upset her and she didn’t eat the rest of the day.”

He said he had also seen them on sale for about £3 in a shop in the hospital, and the company is "ripping off the NHS". He said: "I am a business owner myself and I run a cafe, so I know how cheap it is to make these sandwiches. It must have only cost about seven pence to make.

"This one was ordered through the hospital's catering team but I had seen them in the shop and they are selling them for about £3. So they are clearly ripping off the NHS."

(Image: Carl Simpson)

Carl, who arranged an "emergency wedding" at the hospital two years ago when Maria was given just five days to live, posted a picture of the sandwich on the Tiffin Sandwich Facebook page with the caption "absolute p***take Tiffin Sandwiches". The post soon got deleted before he received a message back from the company.

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He said: “I got a message back saying ‘we do endeavour to produce sandwiches to a top standard and to the budget we are provided by the NHS. I will take this up with the MD.’”

The company later also invited him to a tour of their factory in Bradford for a chance to see exactly how their sandwiches are made.

Carl said: “I don’t get what purpose or benefit that would have to be honest with you. Also, I haven’t really got time to be touring sandwich factories when Maria’s so poorly in hospital.

“She has recovered but is still in and out of hospital when her levels get too high or too low.”

(Image: Carl Simpson)

A Tiffin Sandwiches spokesman said: “It’s not very often this happens. We make millions of sandwiches up to a high standard every year and it’s only the odd occasion where something like this happens.

“The way we make it is by making two sandwiches, piling them one on top of the other and cutting them in half. It hardly ever happens but we can see how someone could end up with two bad halves. All of our traders make sure our sandwiches are up to spec.

“We are in the process of replying to Mr Simpson and have already invited him to look around our factory in Bradford.

"We are very sorry about this and we will make sure we do something about it.”