The owner of an Indian restaurant in Maidstone has said a decision to give his restaurant a one-rating for food safety and hygiene was "very harsh".

Tipu Chowdhury has been running the Spice Hut in Brewer Street since it opened 23 years ago and was shocked to see the eatery go from a five-rated venue to a one-rating.

Inspectors visited the Indian takeaway in September last year and criticised it for having a "dirty" wash area and for having a food safety management plan locked in the owner's office.

But Mr Chowdhury has since revealed he was at a funeral in Birmingham and there is usually always access to the plans.

He said: "There was a lot of little things brought up which I thought were unfair and very harsh.

"It wasn't clear the wash area which was slightly dirty was completely separate from the kitchen, and the management system was in my office which I asked to inspector to wait until I returned to show her."

Mr Chowdhury took on board the other criticisms of the report, which mentioned broken tiles and a dirty "no frost fridge" and said he made the changes as quickly as possible.

'We've been told everything is good...'

He added: "Within two weeks we changed everything that was asked and had the inspector back the next month.

"She visited and said she was happy with everything and we go back to a five-star rating once we apply for a rescore."

The restaurant owner says he will soon apply for a rescore to get the popular takeaway its "proper score", but revealed he wants to completely renovate the kitchen before he does.

"It's a personal plan of mine to get the kitchen done first," he said.

"We've been told everything is good and that all we need to do is apply for a rescore, but I'm just waiting for some quotes on doing the kitchen and then when that's done I'll apply."

The report, which was released after a Freedom of Information request from the KentOnline, raised concerns about the condition of the kitchen, including mouldy sealant around the sink, which had been mentioned at a previous inspection, as well as damaged floor and wall tiles, and a shelf being used to hold the microwave being covered with old and dirty tape.

The restaurant's food hygiene was"very good", while its cleanliness and management of facilities as "generally satisfactory", while its management of food safety, due to not being able to provide the required folder, was told it needed "major improvement".

The report added: "You must make sure the Food Safety Management System and the monitoring records are kept where it is available for staff to use at any time.

"I suggest you keep it in the kitchen."