A young mum-to-be has been left 'traumatised' after claiming to find chicken brains in her first KFC since lockdown.
Nicole Matthews, 22, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, swallowed one bite of her first chicken piece before realising it tasted off and immediately threw up in the toilet.
Her mum Joanne Matthews, 48, then pulled the rogue piece apart with a fork and made the stomach-churning discovery of what looked like "parts of a brain or a kidney".
Nicole, who is five months pregnant, had been craving the Colonel's chicken since stores closed in March.
But she says the horrifying incident has put her off meat for life and she is now planning to go veggie.
The delivery arrived from the Trafford Retail Park store on Saturday May 30 at around 8.30pm, but just minutes later the pair decided to throw the whole order in the bin.
"I had the first bite and it just tasted off, so I threw it down, made it to the toilet and actually vomited," Nicole explains.
"I just had a little bite and swallowed without checking it, and with me being pregnant I've been worried in case it could make me really ill.
"I've only eaten about two biscuits and an apple since, and the thought of eating any food at the minute is making me feel really sick.
"I don't want to cook or anything.
"Obviously that's not healthy for me or the baby, but I feel a bit traumatised by it. I know It sounds dramatic, but it's really, really disgusted me.
"I would never go there again and it's completely put me off meat, so I'm serious about becoming a vegetarian because I don't think I can eat it ever again."
The furloughed admin worker says she threw up again later that night, and that her iffy stomach is unlikely to be due to morning sickness because she hasn't suffered from that during her pregnancy so far.
KFC say that while the discovery was "not ideal", it is something that "can happen when dealing with fresh chicken".
Joanne later took pictures of the "brain-like" objects and rushed to the store to demand an apology, but says she didn't receive one and was told to call KFC's head office.
The pair have yet to get through to anyone on the customer services team, despite calling around 12 times.
Nicole says she is frustrated by the chicken giant's lack of action and she doesn't believe they're doing enough to maintain high standards.
"I understand if you're eating an animal you're going to have animal bits in it, but it's their job to make sure those bits aren't in it because that's not what you're ordering," she continued.
"It could be part of the chicken, but that's still meant to be taken out. So if that's been left in, it could be absolutely anything else."
The two had ordered two Mighty Bucket For One Meals and a regular portion of Popcorn Chicken with some Garlic Buttermilk Mayo Dip, costing £20.90.
"I was absolutely craving KFC, so I was so happy when they all opened and I was really excited for it, and then this happened," Nicole continued.
"I just want an apology for it. The manager of the branch didn't have an apology for me, and the head quarters just haven't been answering. It's just been frustrating.
A KFC spokesperson said: "Not ideal. However, it looks like a natural part of the chicken to us! This can happen when dealing with fresh chicken - they're harmless, but it goes without saying they shouldn't be there.
"This doesn't meet the Colonel's usual high standards, and it's certainly not the reunion we want people to have with their favourite fried chicken after some time apart.
"We're sorry this has taken a little longer than normal, but our friends over in Care Squad have been working from home. Rest assured we're working hard to make this right."
