Roadworks have been blamed for the appearance of a rat in a Sittingbourne Wetherspoon pub.

Customers at the Golden Hope in Park Road, Sittingbourne, saw the rodent scurrying about yesterday - just months after maggots fell from the ceiling.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said: “We are aware that a customer spotted a rat in the pub.

“There have been a lot of road works going on immediately outside the pub and we believe this might be the cause.

“We have had our pest control contractors in the pub to deal with the issue.

“We apologise to our customers for this occurrence.”

The rat sighting comes two months after maggots were seen falling from the ceiling at the same pub.

On that occasion, pest controllers were called in and cleaned and treated the affected area, near a smoke detector.