Policeman sues over 'Burger King spit'

A US police officer has sued Burger King and a local restaurant franchise owner for negligence after claiming that an employee had spit in his Whopper.

Clark County sheriff's deputy Edward Bylsma claimed that the incident occurred in March 2009 when he visited a branch of the fast food outlet in Vancouver, Washington, The Columbian reports.

Bylsma's attorney Anne Bremner claimed that Burger King had been negligent and added: "There's been no assurance after the fact that they've changed anything. We haven't gotten anything - not even an apology."

In a federal lawsuit filed in Portland, Bylsma said he had an "uneasy feeling" about two members of staff and then found a thick glob of saliva laced with phlegm in his hamburger.

Later laboratory testing showed the saliva to match that of 22-year-old employee Gary Herb.

Burger King and franchise owner Kaizen Restaurants in Beaverton said that the workers' actions were "despicable" and that both members of staff have been fired as a result of a "zero tolerance" policy.