Mouse droppings found at Golden Wheel takeaway during inspection

Golden Wheel Takeaway on Cross Lane was awarded a zero food hygiene rating after an inspection on February 17 this year

A Freedom of Information request obtained by the Globe confirmed that: "the standards found at the time of the initial inspection were not acceptable due to the widespread activity of mice".

The report also said: "the conditions found would indicate that staff are not washing their hands regularly or areas are not being cleaned and disinfected as often as needed."

Golden Wheel takeaway (Image: Google Maps)

The takeaway, which serves Chinese and English dishes, was awarded a 20 for hygeine (25 being the poorest), 25 for structure (25 being the poorest) and 30 for confidence in management (30 being the poorest).

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Staff were also told that they must have adequate procedures in place to control pests including rodents after there was evidence of "mice activity" with mice droppings found, a live mouse found behind a vegetable fridge and a further dead mouse found.

Droppings behind oven (Image: Wirral Council)

Mouse droppings found where sauces are stored (Image: Wirral Council)

There were over 20 mouse droppings found during the intial inspection, including in areas where sauces were stored and behind an open box of ginger.

Michael Ho, the takeaway owner, said: "We had a deep clean on February 18, the day after our food hygiene inspection. The inspector came back to check on February 20, and everything was ok that time.

"We will do our best to keep everything clean in the future, and we have applied for a food hygiene re-visit."

The takeaway has been given several reccomendations to follow including de-cluttering, reducing contamination, appointing a pest control contractor and ensuring that pest activity is checked on a daily basis.