A dead rat was found decomposing in the kitchen of a popular sushi restaurant given a damning one-star food hygiene rating.

Council inspectors initially discovered fresh rodent faeces at Happy Samurai in Canterbury and ordered bosses to immediately stop service.

But having ordered an overnight deep-clean, they made the more grizzly discovery beneath sink pipework after returning to the Butchery Lane restaurant the next day.

Inspectors say the rodent was “not recently dead”, while more droppings were also present.

An initial voluntary closure notice was served on February 15 for the “urgent” clean, alongside repair work and pest control, according to official papers.

In a report written that day, inspectors said: “Following our visit yesterday, I returned to check on progress.

“New rat droppings were found in the basement. A dead rat - not recently dead - was found in the kitchen along with fresh droppings.

“A call was made to a pest control contractor.

“The owner has agreed to close his premises until Tuesday, February 20.”

At the original inspection, a host of other issues were noted.

According to council papers obtained by KentOnline, inspectors told the owners: “The premise was found to be in a dirty condition under units and behind equipment.

“You must clean and maintain a clean condition.

“Rat droppings were evident in the basement behind equipment and in the kitchen at floor level.

“You must clean, sanitise and pest-proof the premises to prevent access to rodents.”

Furthermore, ventilation issues were found in the basement.

The inspector said: “The area is used for rice preparation.

“There is no ventilation and the room is mouldy.

“There is also no permanent lobby between the toilets and the room as the doors are left open.”

The report also noted there was inadequate ventilation in the kitchen to remove heat, odour and grease.

The surfaces, doors, ceilings and walls were deemed “not suitable for cleaning”, as there was bare wood, holes and damage.

“All areas must be smooth and capable of being effectively cleaned,” the inspector added.

Bosses were told they must clean away all droppings immediately and not keep food items in the basement, including the rice cooker.

In addition, it was discovered that food was not labelled correctly or heated to the legal temperatures required.

The report says: “Cold holding (fridges) should be below eight degrees, and cooked foods should be heated above 75 degrees and hot held at least 63 degrees.

“I witnessed foods holding at 20 degrees chilled, and hot food including chicken and curry sauce being held at 46 and 42 degrees.”

Food safety documentation on site was also found to be inadequate.

‘There is no ventilation and the room is mouldy…’

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies says Happy Samurai owners have been “compliant and on board with everything recommended”.

He stated: “An Environmental Health Officer visited this premises on 14 February and was concerned enough by the conditions he saw to ask for service to stop immediately and request urgent work take place overnight.

"Officers returned the following day and with more access possible due to no kitchen staff being present, they found a dead rat as well as fresh droppings from overnight.

"During that visit, the operator voluntarily agreed to close for a longer period and work on a number of urgent recommendations made by our officers.

"A further inspection then took place on 20 February to check progress and it was agreed that the premises could reopen.

"Our priority is always to work with the owners of food businesses so that they can achieve the best score possible. While there have clearly been issues at this business, we are pleased that the operator has been compliant and on board with everything we have recommended.

"We understand that since our last visit, more work has taken place, and we will be returning to rescore the business in due course."

The Happy Samurai has been contacted for comment.