A MEAT inspector allegedly kidnapped and thrown into a vat of waste animal parts has spoken of his ordeal and of fears that he may have been infected with the human form of mad cow disease.

The man - who has asked not be named - broke his silence as an MP stepped up calls for him to be compensated by the Ribble Valley abattoir involved.

Five men have been cautioned following the incident, but MP Dale Campbell-Savours and other MPs believe the Crown Prosecution Service and police should have taken the men to court and have slammed the police for labelling the incident a prank that went wrong.

The incident happened on the man's last day of a six-month stint as a Government meat hygiene inspector based at Rose County Foods abattoir in Sawley, ensuring BSE precautions were carried out.

"I heard a couple of the lads talking and saying that they would have to make sure I didn't leave the building," said the man, who is in his forties.

"I was concerned they were going to do something to me so I climbed out of a window and got out of there.

"I stopped off at a cafe nearby and was sitting by the side of the road when a car pulled up with five men from the abattoir in and they forced me to get inside.

"The police seem to think this was just a works prank but I was so worried that at one point I grabbed the steering wheel to try and force them to stop." A Commons motion put down by Mr Campbell-Savours detailed how the man was thrown into an abattoir vat containing 'specified risk material' - parts of the animal such as spinal cord regarded as being at risk from mad cow disease.

The man added: "When they first threw me in it was like being thrown into a swimming pool by surprise and I swallowed several mouthfuls of the stuff.

"No-one has been brought to court and I'm left with the fear that one day I may develop CJD from this."

A spokesman for Rose County Foods said the firm - which is facing a court hearing about a separate breach of the BSE regulations unrelated to the incident - had changed hands since the attack and therefore refused to comment about matters which happened under the old management.

Peter Tidey for Burnley CPS said it had never received a file on the case from the police but a spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said it was "a prank that misfired".

He said the five men involved had been cautioned by police after saying that the intention had been to mark the man's last day of work at the slaughterhouse by dunking him in a vat of water.

But Mr Campbell-Savours, Labour MP for Workington, has now put down another Commons motion attacking the police explanation for the non-prosecution and demanding compensation for the inspector.

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