An Indian restaurant has been given a zero out of five food hygiene rating – but its owner claims it hasn't.

Hawley Kitchen in Dartford received the scoring from council environmental health officers following an inspection on January 10.

But boss Shahin Ahmed has claimed a mistake had been made and it was not the correct rating for his restaurant and was in fact a neighbouring business.

The local authority has disputed this and confirmed it is the right score for Hawley Kitchen and the other company had not yet been inspected.

Owner of neighbouring Thai and Gourmet Kitchen, Muj Rahmen, confirmed it was not their rating and he is awaiting an inspection.

Following a Freedom of Information Act request by KentOnline, the food hygiene report was supplied for Hawley Kitchen.

It said the Hawley Road eatery required urgent improvements to bring it back up to scratch.

Inspectors found there was no sanitiser or antibacterial spray on site, the ice machine was covered in mould and food was being stored on the kitchen floor, walk-in chiller and freezer.

The report also said raw food such as chicken wings and marinated chicken breasts were being stored next to cooked and ready to eat food such as rice and lettuce.

It added chopping boards were being used to cut both raw and cooked products and there was no dishwasher or antibacterial spray to ensure they were adequately cleaned between uses.

Some food found in the freezer was beyond its use by date and "mouse droppings" had been seen in the basement and external storage room.

It also recommended improvements for its stock management system now it would be sharing the walk-in chiller and freezer with another business Gourmet Kitchen.

The report also added: "I observed several front of house staff members and staff members from the pot wash area handling food without washing their hands between tasks.

"I also observed other staff 'rinsing' their hands at the double sink unit used for the washing of dirty pots and not at the designated hand wash basin.

"It was apparent during the inspection that the level of food hygiene awareness among staff members was inadequate."

Despite this, Mr Ahmed has said the report is not that of Hawley Kitchen and the business remains at a five out of five rating.

The restaurant was set to be re-scored by council officers on Tuesday with its latest score revealed at a later date.