Health Inspectors who visited a County Durham takeaway have slammed the business after rat droppings were found in the kitchen and food was stored in bin bags.

Inspectors visited Chilton Chippy on July 5 and handed the sub-standard venue a 1-star food hygiene rating.

On that occasion, the takeaway failed the inspection on a range of safety measures including food being kept after its use-by date.

Food was also being stored on the floor, near chemicals such as bleach, and near non-food items such as screws, batteries and keys; something that inspectors stressed could lead to cross-contamination and therefore illness.

In some cases, food was also found stored in black bin-liners, which inspectors said were not “food grade” and may pass chemicals.

An electric fly killer was found above a potato chipper, also risking contamination to foods.

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Meanwhile, procedures to control pests were also not followed correctly when “three-month-old rat droppings” were found beneath the stairs.

Speaking to the takeaway about the dropppings, the health inspector said: “You must remove the droppings, thoroughly clean, and disinfect the area and continue to monitor for any further pest activity.

“If any further pest activity is found, you must contact a pest controller to carry out the necessary treatment and to identify any potential entry points.”

There were holes found under the stairs and gaps to the back of the property, which could be an entry point for potential pests.

Items in the takeaway were also found to be dirty including the fridges, freezer, pizza oven, kebab spit, dough mixer, blade to bench top tin opener and a pizza roller.

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