A KFC restaurant on the A4042 was closed down by the food chain after receiving a zero food hygiene rating from a food safety officer.

The food outlet located off the A4042, Pontymoile, was given the rating following the inspection on May 19.

The food hygiene rating system, carried out by local authorities in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), sees businesses rated from 0 to 5 - with 5 being the top, meaning very good hygiene standards.

In his report, the food safety officer deemed that major improvement is necessary in the "cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building to enable good food hygiene".

Major improvement was also said to be necessary in the "checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, also for evidence that staff know about food safety".

Improvement was also deemed to be be required in the "hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage".

The FSA says that restaurant with ratings of 0 are very likely to be performing poorly in all three elements checked - food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities and management of food safety - and are likely to have a "history of serious problems".

In a statement from the business, it said that it "agreed with the inspection findings" but have since carried improvements.

This includes the establishment being thoroughly cleaned and procedures put in place to ensure that cleanliness is maintained. There is also said to be a new manager, and the staff have been re-trained.

The statement said: “We are extremely disappointed that our Pontypool restaurant did not meet the high standards we demand.

“We acted promptly to address issues identified by the environmental health officer, including immediately closing the restaurant to enable the kitchen to be deep cleaned and appointing a new manager.

“All staff were re-trained in the company procedures, including cleaning and food safety to ensure the strict hygiene standards expected by KFC are followed at all times.”

The statement goes onto say that “the conditions found at the time of the inspection were not typical of the normal conditions maintained at the establishment and arose because our food safety procedures were not followed, which led to poor standards”.

The restaurant has been placed under the review of KFC’s specialist senior operations team, which reports directly to the managing director of KFC UK.

The company has also implemented additional senior management visits to the restaurant to ensure improved standards are maintained.

Following its closure for a deep clean, the restaurant has reopened.

A formal re-rating request has been to the environmental health officer and the restaurant is awaiting another inspection.

A Torfaen council spokesman said the decision has not been made yet on whether "formal action will be taken".