The boss of a curry house where parts of the kitchen were found to be dirty is confident the restaurant will soon improve on its one-star hygiene rating.

Food Standards Agency (FSA) officials said cleaning at the Raja of Kent, near Tenterden, was "generally poor" and discovered raw meat being stored next to naan bread.

But restaurant owner Ruzul Kabir Raja has told KentOnline the issues raised during the inspection in November have been addressed - and it should now be rated five stars.

“The inspectors came at 6pm when it was very busy,” said Mr Raja.

“There was lots of stuff in the fridge at the time and it was a bit disorganised.

“It’s very hard to keep everything clean when we are actually cooking, but we are always very careful about hygiene.

“There was a little bit of negligence, but since the inspection everything has been cleaned to a very high standard."

When health inspectors visited the Biddenden Road restaurant, they were concerned about its cleanliness and how food was being stored.

The report said: “Cleaning is generally poor throughout."

It also noted thick grease under the gas range, that the ceiling was "dirty and stained" - and there were cobwebs in rear storeroom.

“Raw meat is being stored over or next to other foods, for example shish kebabs meat stored next to naan dough," the report added.

“You are washing hands in the washing up sink which was full of dirty crockery.”

“I have been running this restaurant for 20 years and we have been five stars..."

But after a follow-up inspection in January, the FSA said good progress had been made at the site, which is between Biddenden and St Michaels.

The new reports says: “Most issues for my inspection of November 2022 have been dealt with or are in progress - the kitchen has had a thorough clean and tidy, as has the storage room."

Mr Raja says there are plans for a re-inspection to happen soon and he feels confident about the outcome.

He said: “I have been running this restaurant for 20 years and we have been five stars. We should be five stars again once we are reinspected.

“I inspect the kitchen every day and make sure it is clean to a high standard.

“We have a hand-washing station in the kitchen now and we continue to be very careful about hygiene."