People in Australia won't stop hiding needles in strawberries, and its biggest supermarket has stopped selling needles in response

7 News/Youtube

A needle in a strawberry, as seen on Australian TV news.

• Australia's biggest supermarket - Woolworths - announced Thursday that it will stop selling sewing needles.
• It is a response to a crisis in the country which has seen people hide needles inside strawberries and other fruit.
• More than 100 reports have been made of hidden needles, and 2 people who accidentally ate needles had to go to hospital.
• The crisis has spread panic, plunged Australia's fruit industry into chaos, and prompted Parliament to pass a new law.

Australia's biggest supermarket chain has stopped selling sewing needles as part of a response to a growing trend of people hiding them in strawberries and other fruit.

Woolworths announced on Thursday that it is temporarily removing needles from sale, according to the Reuters news agency. All 995 Woolworths branches are affected.

Other fruit have also been found with needles inside, including at least one case of needles in an apple, a banana, and a mango.

Channel 7 News

A needle was found in an apple.

Two people have gone to hospital after accidentally eating one of the needles. One person - a child - has been arrested after reportedly admitting to putting needles in strawberries.

On Wednesday, an Australian government minister said that at least 100 reports have been received of needles in fruit. Some of the reports may be false alarms.

The phenomenon - which has turned many Australians off buying strawberries and thrown Australia's fruit industry into chaos - appears to have worsened over the past week.

The problem came to light from a Facebook post earlier this month by a man who said his friend had swallowed part of a needle hidden in a strawberry and went to the hospital.

Cases have since been reported in many parts of the country, according to this map compiled by News.com.au.

On Thursday, lawmakers in Australia passed new legislation increasing the jail term for those convicted of hiding needles in fruit to 15 years.

You can read the full ammendment to the Criminal Code Act 1995 here.

9 News

The Australian PM Scott Morrison talking to 9 News on September 20, 2018.

On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called said that anybody who hides a needle in a strawberry is "a coward and a grub."

"It's not a joke. It's not funny," he told reporters. "You are putting the livelihoods of hardworking Australians at risk, and you are scaring children."

He added: "And if you do that sort of thing in this country, we will come after you, and we will throw the book at you."

The governments of Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland are all offering a reward of 100,000 Australian dollars ($72,000) for information.

Police said on Wednesday that they had arrested one person in connection with the phenomenon.

According to News.com.au, Stuart Smith, a senior officer in the New South Wales police force, said: "In the last two days we found a young person has admitted to a prank, including putting needles in strawberries, and he'll be dealt with under the youth cautioning system."