Consumer guide Which? sampled food at 39 service stations around Britain and put Granada at the bottom of the pile.

Yesterday Which? spokeman Kate Levine said it was not known if the judges stopped at Knutsford for a bite to eat.

"I am not able to say exactly which service stations were used in the survey," she said. "But Granada as a whole was found to have the worst food."

Experts from The Good Food Guide decided that the meals were poor, the service was slow and the food was very expensive.

They tasted food from the Fresh Express restaurant and the Little Chef which were described as 'disgusting' and 'appalling value for money.'

Last week a spokesman for Granada said: "Our policy is to offer our customers cheaper prices than the other operators on the most popular, high volume goods, like fuel and hot drinks.

"Unfortunately the Which? report did not focus on those goods."

Last week the Knutsford Guardian asked drivers taking a break at the Knutsford services what they thought of the food.

Most said they preferred to take their own food on the journey than buy it at services.

"I haven't bought any food from a service station for more than seven years because it is too expensive," said Barbara Wells, 52, of Charfield in South Gloucester.

But Karen Taggart, 43, and her son Matthew, 12, said they always bought food on route.

"I always expect to pay more at services," she said. "The food is not great but it keeps us going."

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