INSPECTORS scored The Padgate Rose restaurant zero out of five in a council hygiene report after discovering a wooden chopping board infested with ants in a filthy kitchen.

The Hong Kong restaurant and takeaway on Station Road North in Fearnhead received the worst possible grade on the Scores on the Doors website following the inspection on August 5.

The Padgate Rose was bought by a new owner earlier this year.

But one week before its relaunch Warrington Borough Council was forced to serve Mr Wen Biao Li with a hygiene emergency prohibition notice to prevent it from opening.

During the inspection council staff found that blood from raw had contaminated fresh ginger stored in the bottom of a fridge.

They said raw eggs and packing were stored on cooking sauces and old cardboard boxes were used for storing foods such as prawn crackers.

Seals of refrigerators and freezers were damaged or dirty, a wok cooking range and the oven and hob in the kitchen were not clean, plastic containers for storing food were dirty, wall tiles, floor tiles and pipes were dirty, an electric insect killer was full of dead insects and staff were not wearing suitable and clean over-clothing when handling food.

They also found an open manhole in the kitchen, open drainage gulleys and slugs on the floor.

Alan Holt, Warrington Borough Council’s principal environmental health officer, said: “Food businesses should be aware that they have to comply with the law whether they are open or not if they are preparing food in advance for use in the business.”

The Warrington Guardian contacted Mr Wen Biao Li to see what he had to say about the report.

He said he had admitted the offences and accepted a caution but had since met with the heads of environmental management to ensure they were happy with the restaurant’s new hygiene standards.

He said: “This was only a misunderstanding because all this has now been passed.

“When the inspectors came we had not actually opened or started our new business. We were carrying out refurbishment and cleaning and since then we have been given credits by the health and environmental department.

“We have created a new, improved menu and Warrington Guardian readers are welcome to come to The Padgate Rose to see our fully refurbished restaurant and kitchen for themselves.”

He added that the restaurant will be reinspected later this year and hopes to achieve a four-star rating.

For more details on the inspection visit scoresonthedoors.org.uk.