A Chinese takeaway that has been accused of housing cockroaches has carried a “good” hygiene rating since March.

Lotus House, in London Road, is believed to have had inspectors knocking on its door after a Facebook post, containing a picture of a slimy cockroach, in one of its dishes.

The social media update was posted by Jack Stevenson, who added the caption “feeling ill”. It later emerged that the dish belonged to his heavily pregnant girlfriend Emma McGarry of Tower Hamlets.

The discovery first appeared to be taken lightheartedly and was shared more than 50 times via social media sites, attracting a mass of attention from locals.

When the Mercury initially contacted the manager, Ka Man, he insisted his kitchen was “clean” and that this problem had never occurred before.

He said: “I have been serving here for 10 years and we have very happy customers.”

Mr Man asked the customer to contact him directly over the matter. It is understood that
the couple were given a full refund.

It has now emerged that on March 19 of this year, the takeaway was given a four star rating out of five, stating its hygiene levels are 'good’.

The district council said it “would not be appropriate” to comment on individual cases but it is believed that a health officer was satisfied the premises did not contain any cockroaches.

The DDC spokesman continued: “We take all reports of food contamination seriously and investigate them accordingly.

“This includes visiting premises of concern to check on food hygiene standards and practices.”

Mr Man was unavailable for comment as he is on holiday.