Ponders Ends Pizza Hut has been closed down (Source: NurPhoto)

A Pizza Hut where rat droppings and evidence of an infestation were found has been shut down and fined more than £33,000.

Pizza Hut’s Enfield branch, situated on High Street, Ponders End, was given a one-star hygiene rating after a council visit in October 2022 – any score below three is deemed to be non-compliant with food law.

Council officers found rat droppings, poor pest-proofing, a ‘lack of cleanliness’ and, shockingly, gnaw marks on sliced green jalapenos pizza topping packaging.

Rat droppings and gnaw marks were also found on sauce pots in the restaurant’s store room.

During follow-up visit after the initial startling discovery, inspectors at the council found inadequate cleaning practices throughout the restaurant, such as the dirtiness of the surfaces used to prepare food.

A bag of jalapeno toppings had been gnawed by rats (Credits: Enfield Council) Sauce pots had also been bitten by rats (Credits: Enfield Council)

The store was immediately shut after the council’s first visit by Mizan Syed, the Pizza Hut franchisee and sole company director of Exultant Limited, citing an imminent risk to public health.

At their hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, Exultant Limited pleaded guilty to all charges on December 7 2023.

Mr Syed, though, pleaded not guilty – making an application of ‘no case to answer.’

However, the District Judge ultimately found Mr Syed guilty of all charges.

Exultant Limited were dealt a £20,000 with costs of £1,258.41 for breaching food safety and hygiene regulations.

The branch was fined more £33,000 in total (Credits: Emily Manley)

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Mr Syed was handed a £2,000 fine, with costs of £6,528.41 and a surcharge of £800.

In total, the restaurant was struck with more than £30,000 in fines.

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut said: ‘At Pizza Hut, we take the health and safety of our customers very seriously and there are certain health and safety standards we expect all our Huts to uphold.

‘We are aware of this situation and we are in touch with the Pizza Hut in question.’

Pizza Hut currently has 140 dine-in chains situated across the country,

Heart with Smart, which operates the restaurants, recently announced that they want to raise £10 million to invest in touch-screen ordering machines to save money on low-wage staff.

The announcement came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s revealed the government’s budget last month.

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