STAFF at a Worcester branch of Subway dealt with an unusual - and unwelcome - visitor this lunchtime.

During the lunchtime rush, a rat was spotted by members of the public scuttling off the street into the sandwich store in The Cross.

The rodent is said to have been trapped under a bucket with boxes piled on top by a member of staff, before being removed by a professional exterminator.

Emily Pomeroy, 22, from St Johns, was eating lunch with her one-year-old son when a member of the public alerted staff about the rat.

She said: “I was eating and this elderly couple came in and said, ‘Excuse me, a rat has just entered.’ “The next minute, the rat popped his head back round by the stairs and walked round and went underneath where the crisps were.

“A young lad came and put a black bucket over it.

“I go there quite often and that has put me off now knowing that all they did was put a bucket over it. I think it is terrible that they stayed open.”

But store owner, Harmesh Kumar, told your Worcester News that the "random" incident had been dealt with in a professional and correct manner.

"An incident like this is completely out of the store's control and is no reflection on the operation of the store," he said. "We dealt with it well. We isolated the rodent and a professional company came out and got it within the hour.

"The Environmental Health Agency has told us that they would not have dealt with this 'random' incident any differently. I am quite happy that we have dealt with it really well."

Chris Hencher, manager of the store, earlier said he was “fully aware” of the incident and had worked to remove the rodent as quickly as possible.

While he confirmed the shop had remained open, he said the animal was “out of the way” and an exterminator had been called immediately.

In an official statement, Subway said: "The safety and security of our customers is of paramount importance to the Subway brand.

"Each store is individually owned and operated and we have very strict procedures in place to ensure that Subway stores serve products safely and to customers' satisfaction.

"As soon as the franchisee of the Worcester store was made aware of this, a pest control expert immediately attended the premises and the matter was resolved.

"This is an isolated incident and the store maintains a '5*' food hygiene rating as part of regular inspections."