A “filthy” B&M store has been given a zero-star food hygiene rating after inspectors found evidence of rats gnawing on pallets of food.

The Canterbury City Council officials discovered an “active infestation” at the back of the discount retailer in Ten Perch Road, Wincheap.

The authority handed the store the lowest possible hygiene score and banned it from receiving any more stock until it dealt with issues laid bare in a damning report.

The inspectors visited the site at the Canterbury Riverside Retail Park on January 9.

In a letter to B&M, council officials wrote: “There is an active rat infestation to the rear of the premises.

“There is evidence of gnawing to food products. The entire 25 pallets must be removed and sorted to discard any potentially contaminated items from rats.

“The warehouse, shop floor and shelving are filthy.

“There is so much stock, you cannot clean.”

Four rodent bait boxes have now been installed behind B&M, which backs out onto the Great Stour river.

Bosses were ordered to implement a cleaning schedule to keep all surfaces in an appropriate condition.

A personal protective equipment (PPE) station should also be built to prevent staff from handling contaminated stock, warned inspectors.

This is the second rodent infestation at one of B&M’s Kent stores in the past few months.

A report published in January revealed its branch in Dartford was given one star – the second lowest score – for a similar infringement.

Food hygiene inspectors seized packaged goods, including Terry’s Chocolate Oranges and Rice Krispies, which appeared to have been gnawed on by rodents at the Princes Road site.

In a statement, B&M said it has "addressed the points raised and taken swift action to implement all necessary changes in this store”.

“We would like to apologise that our policies and strict store standards were not met on this occasion and we're unhappy it occurred,” a spokesman said.

“We have taken robust action to address the incident and overhaul standards at the store, including measures to help prevent such an incident happening in future.

“The store has been operating as normal since January with all the correct proofing measures in place."

A city council spokesman said: "Our experienced and dedicated environmental health team has been working closely with staff at the Wincheap B&M store since the inspection in January this year.

"A number of follow up visits have taken place since and the company has been very co-operative.

"There have been big strides forward in terms of standards, with additional pest control measures and monitoring in place.

"There has been no request for a rescore as yet but when the company asks for this, it will be arranged."