A DELICATESSAN no longer has rats and is '100 per cent clean' says its new owner.

Bartus European Delicatessen in The Tything, Worcester was taken over by Awat Jalal in May and is now a different shop called "Stokrotka Polski Sklep".

The shop received four out of five stars as its food hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency following a recent inspection.

Mr Jalal: "There are no rats, nothing at all like that. It is spotlessly clean and we have a new range of products.

"My shop is really 100 per cent clean and I have new products and sausage and fresh meat is available at a cheap price plus fresh vegetables. I have new staff and a new manager with nice customer service and we have a lot of promotions for the summer."

Mr Jalal was keen to point out that the fly and rat infestations which led to the previous owner being fined almost £6,000 was nothing to do with him and that the shop was now clean.

We reported on the front page of the Worcester News today (Thursday) how the previous owner, Damon Sidor, aged 32, and his company DB Sidor Limited pleaded guilty to 10 charges of food hygiene regulation breaches at Worcester Magistrates Court on Thursday, July 2.

Worcestershire Regulatory Services, acting on behalf of Worcester City Council, led the crackdown on the food outlet.

Officers visited on June 11 last year and discovered a temporary outbuilding used for food storage had droppings on the floor and an odour of dead rodents.

A follow-up visit took place on June 16 last year when inspectors found further evidence of rat and and fly infestations and cartons of milk and children's drinks had been gnawed and were leaking.