The head chef of a kebab shop in Great Yarmouth has slammed the food hygiene inspection process saying it “ruined” his business’s reputation.

UK Express Kebab on Marine Parade was given a zero food hygiene rating when the shop was inspected on May 31 this year.

But Great Yarmouth Borough Council inspectors returned just a few weeks later and gave the eatery a new rating of four out of five.

Head chef of the kebab shop, Jalan Almadfai, believes the shop was not properly checked when inspectors gave them the zero rating and said they found rat droppings in the back store room.

Mr Almadfai has claimed inspectors “saw everything from a distance” because they had a very busy day.

He believes inspectors mistook old sprouts of potato for rat droppings.

The inspection also found that the fridge was well above the recommended temperature of eight degrees or less.

Mr Almadfai said as a result of the shop’s zero hygiene rating their income has been four times down during weekdays.

He claims that since the inspection they have been taking just £200 to £300 a day compared to their usual £3,000 to £4,000.

In a statement, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “The borough council has a dedicated food safety team who routinely visit food businesses and give advice and offer coaching to help ensure their environment and practices comply with the national legislation.

“Their priority is making sure all food is safe for the public to eat. They also calculate food hygiene ratings according to the national Food Standards Agency Hygiene Rating Scheme.

“We encourage residents and visitors to check these as part of making informed choices about the places they eat out.

“Businesses are routinely inspected and re-inspected, with the ratings for each premises relating to the standards found at the time of their most recent re-scoring.”

However, according to Mr Almadfai this has come too little too late for the shop with its “reputation already being ruined”.