The owner of a Swindon pizza place which has received a fresh zero food hygiene says rapid improvements have been made since it was inspected.

Pizzacroft on Meadowcroft, Stratton St Margaret, first received the lowest possible mark in November 2022.

A new manager took charge in April 2023 and promised to sort out any issues that the previous owner had left behind.

On Wednesday, the new boss, who gave his name as Sam, told the Adver that he had requested a new inspection several times over the last year to learn more specific details about the improvements required to boost the food hygiene rating.

He claims that he received no response and that inspectors then turned up announced on March 25, pointed out the takeaway's failings, and gave it another zero out of five.

Urgent improvement was deemed necessary for the management of food safety, while improvement was required for its hygienic food handling and the cleanliness and condition of the facilities.

Sam said that at the time of the inspection, there were no notices about allergens on display, he was the only employee with Level 2 food hygiene training, and hot water was temporarily unavailable because it was supplied from another part of the building.

After inspectors visited, he installed a new boiler to ensure a constant independent supply of hot water was available, started food hygiene training courses for three other staff members, put allergen notices on display, and signed a contract with a company called Peninsula to help manage on-site health and safety standards.

He added: "If the inspectors came back now, I would probably get a full five, I'm expecting them next week.

"They gave me some tasks I needed to do to revalue the scoring and I've now done everything they wanted.

"They came back the day after the inspection and said they were happy with the hot water now that the boiler had been installed, and they noted that drastic changes had already been made here.

"When I took over the business, I asked for them to visit to see what was required, but they didn't bother coming around, then suddenly, a year later, they visit and give me a zero, which seems unfair.

"I've put a lot of hard work into this, working 14-hour days to pay the bills, it's my livelihood, so this rating is a slap in the face.

"The customers like what we've done, people are happy that we introduced kebabs to the menu and I've got a good reputation."