Shocking footage reveals how cleaners in hazmat suits were confronted with a “sea of maggots” inside a Chinese takeaway.

The stench emanating from Chop Chop in St Dunstan’s Street, Canterbury, was so bad that people were vomiting in the street outside.

KentOnline revealed earlier this week how food had been left to rot in the eatery which shut down unexpectedly after immigration officers discovered five illegal workers during a sting.

Now the boss of the firm given the grim task of cleaning up the mess left festering for a month-and-a-half has described the horrific scenes inside.

Darren Bryson, who runs Sittingbourne-based Bryson Rubbish Clearance, has also shared a nauseating video of hundreds of huge maggots writhing around in water on the takeaway’s floor.

He told KentOnline: “In 11 years, it’s the worst job I have ever done. Where I was standing, there was just a pool of maggots – like a sea of maggots, and also there were flies.

“There were probably about 500 to 600 kilos of mostly meat – including lamb chops and steaks – and they had been there for one or two months.

“There were some defrosted chips but it was mostly meat. A lot of it was open in trays too.

“There were fish heads. It was an absolute mess.”

Earlier this week, the boss of a neighbouring business told KentOnline the foul odour coming from Chop Chop is still lingering – forcing his staff to work from home.

Jack Dent, the owner of web design firm Bryter Digital, said: “The properties are very old so I guess the stench has seeped through.

“I’m paying for a full fumigation and will have to redecorate our entire first floor before it’s comfortable enough to work in.”

Mr Bryson, 39, says even though he and his colleague were wearing protective equipment, there was no escaping the sickening stench.

“We obviously used PPE, but even through the mask, you could smell it,” he said.

“100 yards down the road, outside the takeaway, people were throwing up in the street from the smell.”

Mr Bryson and his colleague “soldiered on”, taking five to six hours to clear out the restaurant.

“I’ve never smelt anything like it,” he said.

“We have done some bad jobs before too.

“It did take some industrial chemicals to get the smell out of our truck.

“It was the sort of smell that when it hits you it gets in your eyes and in your nose. It was a very hard job.”

The immigration officers swooped on June 30 and Canterbury City Council received a complaint about a nasty odour on August 15.

Eight days later, inspectors entered the premises to discover a walk-in chiller filled with rotten food.

A council spokesman said: “An abatement notice was served on the leaseholder on Tuesday, August 22, giving them 24 hours to resolve the problem.

“No action was taken and we returned the following day with a cleaning contractor to begin the process of removing the food.”

Shane Foster, co-owner of neighbouring E Hedger Butcher, says they were forced to shut doors and windows while work was underway to remove the waste.

“The smell was very strong and very noticeable when they were taking the stuff out,” he said. “Unfortunately, to take it out they had to take it out into the street – it was very bad.

“I was very worried about it affecting my business.”

When KentOnline visited Chop Chop this week, a notice on the door simply said: “We are closed until further notice”.

During the Home Office’s inspection back in June, officers found multiple employees who had either overstayed their time in the UK or were an absconder.

A 45-year-old Chinese woman and a 42-year-old Chinese man were taken into immigrant detention.

A Malaysian woman, 36, was encountered and has made an asylum claim and two Chinese men aged 34 and 41 have now been removed from the UK.

The employer was issued with a Civil Penalty Referral Notice for each of the illegal workers identified, making them liable for a fine of up to £20,000 per illegal worker.

They were also served a further notice relating to them acting as a landlord for the illegal workers.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Illegal working causes untold harm to our communities, cheating honest workers out of employment, putting vulnerable people at risk, and defrauding the public purse.

“Illegal working visits are up by more than 50% on last year and arrests have more than doubled, with more people arrested in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of this activity.

“We are also removing those with no right to be in the UK.”

Chop Chop was approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.