Mr. Leon Edmead.

The ice cream lover told The Royal Gazette that he was at home enjoying a bowl of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream and a good book shortly before 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

"But,'' Mr. Edmead said, "as I put the last spoonful in my mouth and started to chew an almond, it was real hard.

"I was afraid that I was going to crack one of my teeth or swallow it, so I took it out of my mouth.'' That, Mr. Edmead said, was when he noticed that the almond contained an almost half-inch, metal-like substance.

"I was really turned off with it,'' he said, adding that he always buys that brand.

"Buttons likes to eat it too. He was lying across my lap with his tongue hanging down. But I'm glad I did not give it to him. He would have swallowed it.'' Needless to say the ordeal left a bad taste in Mr. Edmead's mouth.

While he pointed out that he was not blaming The Market Place in Hamilton where he purchased the ice cream, he said he would be writing to complain to Haagen-Dazs Co. Inc. in New Jersey. "I know for a fact that I would not be eating any more Haagen-Dazs,'' he said.

General manager of The MarketPlace Mr. John Carr said he was not aware of any complaint about Haagen-Dazs ice-cream. But he said he would take the matter up with Haagen-Dazs Co. Inc., the local distributors Prestige Imports, and Mr.

Edmead.

NOT A NUT -- Mr. Leon Edmead shows a fragment of the object he found in a container of what used to be his favourite ice-cream, Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond.