AssetID: 55970771
Headline: KFC carries out ‘deep clean’ after ‘big rat jumping in a bin’ sparks evacuation
Caption: WORDS BYLINE: Davina Jethwa KFC has “deep cleaned” one of its restaurants after customers discovered a rat inside the premises. The rodent was spotted jumping in a bin on Friday (August 28) at the branch in Horsted Retail Park, Chatham. Customer Lauren Vidler said she had been shopping with her children for back-to-school supplies when they decided to get some lunch not long after the fast food eatery opened at 11am. The 32-year-old said: “My kids and I were going upstairs, we actually had our food on the tray, and we heard a scream downstairs as we were walking up. “We popped our heads over the bannister, and my daughter said that there's a mouse, so I looked and realised it was a big rat.” Footage obtained by KentOnline shows the pest jumping around inside a bin before a member of staff partially shuts it. Not long after, Lauren said everyone in the restaurant was asked to leave. Those who had ordered food were given refunds. She added: “There was one employee who was getting everyone out and quite a few behind the tills. “When I was waiting for my money back, they were still serving people at the drive-thru. I had to tell the man giving me my refund that they needed to close it.” The KFC was then shut for the rest of the day. It is understood to have reopened the following morning. A spokesperson for the fast food chain apologised to affected customers and says it brought in a specialist to deal with the issue as soon as it was brought to its attention. A series of inspections since have found no signs of pest activity, they said. But Lauren has expressed concern over the short closure and says the hygiene concerns raised mean she will not return to the restaurant in the future. She said: “There's no way they would have cleaned or fumigated it that quickly for it to be sanitary enough to be cooking and serving food. “That rat could have gone everywhere all night. Some people might think I’m overreacting, but you don't know what diseases it's got, and you can get seriously ill from rats. “It needed to be taken more seriously than it was, for sure.” Medway Council confirmed its environmental health team is aware of the incident and is investigating. A spokesperson for KFC said: “We want to apologise to our customers in Chatham. “Hygiene is a top priority across our restaurants, and this clearly falls short of the high standards we expect. “As soon as the issue was brought to our attention, we closed the restaurant and brought in a pest-control specialist to deal with the issue. “A series of inspections since have found no signs of pest activity in our kitchens, food preparation or storage areas, and additional preventative measures have been put in place. “Following these checks and a thorough deep clean, the restaurant is open and ready to welcome customers back.” According to the Food Standards Agency, the public body responsible for protecting public health in relation to food, the restaurant was last inspected in July 28 this year and received a rating of five out of five (very good).
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