The popular Little Dessert Shop on Queen Street, Wolverhampton, has been ordered to clean up its premises after a presence of rats were found downstairs.

The store subsequently received a one star food hygiene rating.

City of Wolverhampton Council has confirmed that at the inspection,"there was a pest control issue in the downstairs area of the business (not the shop floor) which has now been resolved."

When the shop first opened in August 2015, customers were queuing around the block to get a taste of the eye-watering waffles and delicious range of cakes and ice-creams.

However, fast forward to September this year, the store closed for a brief period after Wolverhampton's food safety officers found the dessert restaurant needed 'major improvement'.

The Little Dessert Shop in Wolverhampton received a low food hygiene rating on 1 in September 2018
The Little Dessert Shop in Wolverhampton received a low food hygiene rating on 1 in September 2018

BlackCountryLive spoke to the establishment which attributed the low food hygiene rating to neighbouring properties and the alley ways which connect them.

A spokesman for the store has said staff were aware of the issue before the food and hygiene officers arrived.

Craig Whitehouse, the manager of the Little Dessert Shop, said: "As a company, we take great pride in our customer service and wish to provide our customers with the best experience possible and as a result of this we also took further precautions by closing the downstairs area of the Shop - only serving customers upstairs.

"I can confirm that no pests entered the service or customer area due to the precautions taken. The landlord has now resolved the issue and Pestcare have done their best to ensure no pests can enter the premises."

The inspection took place on September 28, and a spokesman at City of Wolverhampton Council has confirmed the business closed voluntarily. The pest control issue has now been resolved.

A spokesman at City of Wolverhampton Council said: “Officers inspected the Little Dessert Shop on Queen Street, Wolverhampton on 28 September 2018 and rated the business a Food Hygiene Rating of 1.

“During the visit, conditions were found to be unsatisfactory and the business agreed to close part of the business voluntarily.

“Officers revisited the premises on several occasions following the closure to monitor the situation. Once the officers were happy with the improvements, the voluntary closure was lifted and the business re-opened the following week.

“The City Council is working closely with the business through its ‘Trade with Confidence’ service to educate the importance of food safety and to improve their food hygiene rating.

“The council encourages members of the public to check food hygiene ratings on the Food Standards Agency website to ensure they are confident they are eating at a restaurant complying with food safety regulations.”

Watch new Next opens in Wolverhampton

Video Loading

“Officers revisited the premises on several occasions following the closure to monitor the situation. Once the officers were happy with the improvements, the voluntary closure was lifted and the business re-opened the following week."

Following the success of the Wolverhampton store, The Little Dessert Shop has gone on to open stores in West Bromwich, Telford and Merry Hill with a potential opening in Birmingham's Bulring.