An Indian takeaway restaurant has closed after shocking hygiene failures were uncovered by inspectors – including no hot water and prawns defrosting in a bucket on the floor.

Despite perfect reviews from diners on TripAdvisor, Dabba - The Spice Pot in Hythe, was hit with a one-star rating.

The owners of the Martello Drive curry house, which specialises in Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, volunteered to shut following the visit in May.

But they have now reassured customers all the issues have been resolved and they hope to be reinspected soon so they can reopen.

In their report, the inspector said: “I found various foods in buckets on the floor defrosting, including an unlidded container of prawns.

“Food must not be placed on the floor where it can potentially be contaminated.”

As well as using tubs to unfreeze ingredients, the health enforcer discovered the building had no hot water running to it.

The inspector added: “You must provide hot water for the hand wash basin and wash-up sink.”

In response to the water issue, restaurant manager Sunny Ali said: “Unfortunately we had to undertake some emergency repairs during the same time as the inspector's visit. We experienced a loss in hot water as the boiler had a leak.”

Ingredients were stored in a freezer with no lid, the report said.

The inspector advised the business to remove the food from the freezer, and either buy a new appliance or fix the broken one.

Further problems were found with raw and ready-to-eat food stored next to each other in the bottom of the fridge, as well as dirty walls.

Among a list of items that needed to be properly cleaned were chopping boards, food containers and the cleaning cloths themselves.

Despite the bad hygiene rating, 29 customers have left rave reviews on TripAdvisor.

‘I found various foods in buckets on the floor defrosting...’

One diner said in November last year: “I have had food from Dabba five or six times now, and it is superb.

“The richest tasting Dhanzak I can remember.

“Staff are polite and courteous and the pickup time is usually around 20 minutes. You can't go wrong.”

Another said in October 2021: “This is the absolute best takeaway we have ever had.

“Since our first takeaway from Dabba, we have had one each week.

“It's consistently brilliant and would never order from anywhere else.

“Thank you, Dabba. Keep it up.”

Defending the business, Mr Ali said: “All the issues mentioned in the inspection report have now been rectified and we are now expecting a reinspection in the near future as we have invited the local council back.

“We were unfortunate to receive the current rating.

“However, as a catering business we understand the industry requirements having been previously rated five for food and hygiene.

“We hope that once reviewed by the inspector our rating is rectified.”