CONTAMINATION of pizzas at a restaurant has sparked a police and environmental health investigation.

Officers were interviewing all staff at Pizza Hut in the High Street, Canterbury, on Wednesday after the discovery that meals were being tampered with.

It is believed cleaning materials, and pieces of plastic and wire have been found in pizza preparations.

The alarm was raised last week by a diner and management called in police.

On Tuesday similar incidents were again discovered, this time prior to the food leaving the kitchen. It prompted the company to close the restaurant and the police to step up the investigation.

Pizza Hut reopened on Wednesday and was doing a busy lunchtime trade with customers unaware of the on-going investigation.

A spokesman for Pizza Hut said: "We received a complaint from one customer and are confident that no others were affected on September 6.

"But we were horrified to find that some pizzas made on Tuesday contained foreign objects and had no hesitation in closing the restaurant.

"We are continuing to assist the police with their inquiries and have reopened with a different team who will work at the restaurant until this matter has been resolved."

Police spokesman Michael Ivatt said: "Kent police can confirm that they are investigating a number of incidents where food has apparently been deliberately contaminated at the Pizza Hut restaurant.

"We are undertaking a full investigation into what we consider to be a very serious matter. All staff at the restaurant are being interviewed by police in connection with these incidents."

A city council spokesman said its commercial health team had the power to close down the premises if it considered there was a risk to the public.

But she added: "Our inspectors have visited the restaurant and have been working with Pizza Hut. All the food has been thrown away and the premises thoroughly cleaned."