The owner of a Subway has defended his shop's cleanliness after what appears to be a rat was filmed scuttling around his store.

Subrata Das, who became franchisee of the Sheerness High Street branch of the sandwich chain a month ago, said there was not a problem even though the footage shows the rodent running over the shop floor.

The video was reportedly filmed through the shop-front window after trading hours last night by a 16-year-old boy.

But Mr Das has admitted that despite being aware of the video, he has not closed for business, with customers purchasing food there today.

Mr Das said: "There's only one way it could have come in - through the letter box.

"He could not get into the food area."

He added the rat would have had no access to fresh food produce, which is kept contained in the back of the store and there is no evidence of more rodents.

Subway's head office has since released a statement saying pest control services would be visiting the premises today.

A spokesman added: “The safety and security of our customers is of paramount importance to the Subway brand.

"Each store is individually owned and operated and we have very strict procedures in place to ensure that Subway stores serve products safely and to customers’ satisfaction."