30 year old Sindo Abal said that he did not notice any difference in taste when he started drinking a can of fizzy orange last Wednesday which he soon after found to also contain a dead rat: "I couldn't taste anything strange until I realised that there was something heavy inside the can which moved about when I shook it," explained Sindo, who lives in Meaño in the province of Pontevedra.

"My feeling of disgust when I saw it was a rat is impossible to put into words. None of my family were able to eat anything for the rest of that day," went on Sindo, who immediately phoned the consumer helpline number printed on the side of the can.

"The company told us that it was impossible for a dead rat to be found inside one of their cans, so we decided to report the matter to the Consumers Affairs department."

Sindo is calling for an exhaustive investigation be conducted to ensure that nobody else "especially a young child" gets a similar shock, and insists that his family will be buying their fizzy drinks in transparent bottles from now on "so we can see what's inside."