A POOR food hygiene rating has been handed to a restaurant in Warrington, with inspectors finding that 'major improvement is necessary'.

Donatello, on Orford Lane, has been hit with a one-star score following an inspection by the Food Standards Agency.

The ratings are issued by the Food Standards Agency and are made publicly available online.

In terms of the management of food safety, inspectors found that major improvement was necessary at Donatello's.

While in the hygienic food handling category and the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building category, improvement is necessary, say inspectors.

The rating on the Food Standards Agency website can be viewed here: https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/420387/donatello

Following the rating, the owners of family-run business have issued a statement to customers in which they say they are committed to regaining its five-star rating within weeks following this ‘low point’.

They said: “In March this year, we received an environmental health officer inspection, where it was highlighted that we needed to make some structural improvements as the building is old, some minor improvements to our paperwork regarding staff training, and to fix hygiene cladding onto our kitchen walls.

“During the week when the hygiene cladding was being fitted, we had another environmental health officer visit.

“This time, no paperwork was checked and all attention was on our dedicated hand wash basin. Staff at this time were using an alternative sink for hand washing and hygiene.

“This was not deemed acceptable, and we were told that if the dedicated hand basin was not reinstalled immediately, we would not be able to continue to operate.

“These works have been carried out, and a re-inspection has been booked."