The sandwich chain Subway prides itself on the variety of its toppings - lettuce, avocado, tomatoes and more.

Less frequently available is dead rat.

But now, a franchise of the chain in Oregon is having to defend itself after a rodent’s corpse was found inside a customer’s sandwich.

Matt Jones had just ordered a teriyaki chicken sandwich at a store in Lincoln City and watched as the staff set about preparing an Italian sub for his friend. His friend wanted spinach and the Subway employee scraped the last spoonful from the bin.

“I got my drink, turned around and they were in shock like something happened. There was a mouse in there. It was gross,” he told KGW-TV.

“It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s also the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. I laughed because I was like, there is no way this just happened.”

Cheryl Connell, director of Lincoln County Health and Human Services, said there was little chance of someone getting ill from eating food the rat had touched. 

In a statement, Subway said: “To be cautious, all of the products in the sandwich unit were disposed of and a thorough cleaning took place, in which the Health Department gave the restaurant a clean bill of health. There were no other complaints made.”

Mr Jones and his friend said they did not wish to press charges against the shop, but they may be less than thrilled by the compensation they received; Subway merely refunded the cost of their sandwich.