Pensioner poisoned 47 policemen

A cafe owner who poisoned 47 police officers with sandwiches that could have proved deadly has been ordered to wear an electronic tag and observe an evening curfew.

The 70-year-old culprit, Muriel Morris, took an order of 100 sandwiches at Morris's Meal Machine in Birmingham for policemen last year.

She admitted four charges of breaching food hygiene regulations at Birmingham Magistrates' Court, where the judge told her that her food "could have resulted in fatalities". The contaminated sandwiches led some officers to fear they would die from their infections, the court was told, causing a few of them to be "mentally scarred". Others passed out and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. One officer said in a statement: "I thought my life was coming to an end."