A horrifying moment was captured when a massive rat was seen scurrying around a newly opened restaurant – after it had managed to climb in through the letterbox. The unsettling footage shows the rodent leaping onto chairs at Pepe’s Piri Piri in Stephenson Place, Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
Shelby Johnson, 21, was out for a walk with her two year old son Kobe-Jax when the toddler started pointing and shouting: “Rats! rats!” Images reveal one rat perched on the back of a chair, staring at Kobe through the window of the eatery. Shelby remarked: “We wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for Kobe shouting ‘rats rats’.”
She added: “Next minute there are three rats running around the floor.”
She expressed her disgust saying: “I’m sorry but that’s absolutely disgusting considering that’s it’s a dining area where people eat and it’s relatively new to Chesterfield.”
The incident occurred on August 19, and was promptly reported to Environmental Health and Chesterfield Borough Council.
The venue, which had only opened the previous month, was temporarily shut down to allow for pest control visits and deep cleaning to be carried out. The restaurant, which has since reopened, confirmed a rat had climbed into the restaurant through the letterbox.
A spokesperson for Pepe’s Piri Piri stated: “We were aware of an isolated incident involving the sighting of a rat within our Pepe’s store premises.”
They further added: “Pepe’s Head office closed the store to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation by our internal team, a specialist pest control company and the local authority.
“It was confirmed that the rodent gained entry through the front door letterbox.
“No other traces of infestation or access points were found inside the store.
“The safety and hygiene of our stores remain our highest priority.
“As a precaution, we took swift and comprehensive measures, including deep cleaning the entire store with an external commercial cleaning company, and reinforcing our entry points, to ensure this does not happen again.
“The store then had three pest control visits which confirmed no pest activity in the store, before the store reopened.
“We appreciate the attention to this matter and remain committed to maintaining the highest standards for our customers and staff.”
