Ants and flies were found crawling across food at a popular town centre bakery - as it became a Kent district's worst-rated eatery.

The owners of Bayked in Richmond Street, Herne Bay, shut the business to allow for drastic action to be taken after a Canterbury City Council inspector made the shocking discovery.

A damning report describes how the official was left "very concerned" about the cleanliness of the premises last month, giving it a hygiene rating of zero, the lowest score possible.

Local authority bosses say they are now satisfied the "necessary improvements had been made", with the bakery expected to be given with an improved rating.

But it remains the only eatery across the district to have been issued with a mark of zero in more than two years.

In their report, the inspector says: "I am very concerned about the condition and cleanliness of the premises.

"The food is at risk of physical contamination from the building where a door has been created.

"There are flies and ants in the premises and on the food.

"Food is out of temperature control, both on display and in the fridges."

Concerns were raised about the toilets as well as the cleanliness of food equipment and washing facilities - which were all found to be unsatisfactory.

City council spokesman Leo Whitlock says the visit "highlighted a number of issues that needed to be addressed", prompting the business to close voluntarily.

"The report from our initial inspection highlighted a number of issues that needed to be addressed," he explained.

"The business closed voluntarily while that took place.

"It reopened once our team was satisfied the necessary improvements had been made."

But on the date of the inspection - July 7 - staff from Bayked took to Facebook to tell customers they would be shut the next day as the site's "oven needed some essential repair work".

They then announced 24 hours later they had carried out "a little clean and rejig" as the appliance was "still undergoing some fixes".

"This place is special. Quality, fresh and superbly baked..."

On July 20, the business revealed it was set to welcome back customers the next day, adding: "After a busy week or so behind the scenes we are ready to open again tomorrow.

"We’ve had a little bit of a switch around and [are] super excited for you to come and see."

Despite the shocking revelations, Bayked has received glowing reviews on TripAdvisor - with all bar one of 28 customers giving it top marks.

One person wrote: "This place is special. Quality, fresh and superbly baked.

"The sandwich fillings are amazing and obviously the chefs have spent time carefully thinking about what works well.

"Thank goodness we aren’t local as I’d be significantly heavier."

Mr Whitlock also stresses Bayked has since been revisited by council teams, with a follow-up report set to be published.

Bayked has been contacted for comment.

The last eatery across Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay to have been rated zero by hygiene inspectors was the Maharaja towards the end of 2019.

A pigeon nest and droppings were found inside its food store by council workers. It was following their visit that the restaurant closed down.