A LEADING consumer group has said Swindon is one of the worst places in the country for establishments scoring badly in food hygiene inspections.

Which? has released a table ranking the performance in local authority areas across the UK and out of 398, Swindon ranks a lowly 388th, with just 71 per cent of tested establishments being considered broadly compliant.

The figures have led to some complaints of the council, which is responsible for carrying out inspections, but the Food Hygiene team says it shows they are doing their job.

Inspectors make visits to all premises involved in the handling of food and give them a score out of five based on how they have performed.

The report was published last week and used to create a map of the country, showing the best and worse areas.

It paints Swindon as the lowest scoring in the South West.

Executive director of Which?, Richard Lloyd, said while the final responsibility for hygiene was with premise’s owners, local authorities have a duty to ensure standards are kept high.

He said: “Our research reveals a shocking postcode lottery on food hygiene where in some places you may as well toss a coin before deciding which restaurant to trust with your health.

“Consumers expect local authorities to check that food businesses in their area comply with hygiene standards and rigorously enforce the rules.”

In recent months, Swindon Borough Council has successfully taken action against a number of establishments in the town which have failed to meet basic standards.

It says the results show that rather than not doing their job, the inspectors are working to improve hygiene in establishments across the town.

A council spokesman said: “It’s a basic mistake to assume that the more poorly-performing food establishments a council finds, the worse that council is performing.

“The opposite is more likely to be true, because it shows they’re doing meaningful, well-targeted inspections and are holding businesses to account.

“We certainly don’t recognise the picture of Swindon painted by this survey. At least 60 per cent of businesses we inspect are achieving food hygiene ratings of three stars or more, and we know that overall standards are improving.

“We take the issue very seriously and will take businesses to court if necessary, although our approach is always to try to get them to improve their standards first.

“Legal action is always a last resort when advice, education and training have failed.”