Pest control was called to the JD Wetherspoon (JDW) pub, the Golden Hope in Sittingbourne, after a customer saw the rodent in the premises.
The pubco confirmed the incident and apologised to its customers. A JDW spokesman said: “We are aware that a customer spotted a rat in the pub today. There have been a lot of road works going on immediately outside the pub and we believe this might be the cause.
“We have had our pest control contractors into the pub to deal with the issue. We apologise to our customers for this occurrence.”
Previous incident
The incident comes just two months after the pub was forced to partially close after maggots fell from its ceiling.
Pest control was calling after customers complained to staff about the maggots. The customer area of the pub was closed off immediately and pest controllers cleaned the area around a smoke alarm where the maggots had been sighted.
Meanwhile, a JDW pub kitchen in Gloucestershire was forced to temporarily close after maggots were reportedly found in bins nearby earlier this year (July).
The Lord High Constable of England shut its kitchen for several days after the vermin was discovered. While the bins were not owned by JDW, its close proximity to where food was prepared meant it had to shut, according to Gloucestershire Live newspaper.
JDW spokesman Eddie Gershon confirmed the incident, but emphasised that the vermin was not associated with the pub.
Rat infestation
Rats have been a problem at more than one venue recently as an Essex pub was fined more than £42,000 and stopped from selling food after the pests were found nesting under a fridge in its kitchen.
One inspector, who visited the pub described the conditions at the Red Lion in Chelmsford as “one of the word I have ever seen in my 30-year career”.
The pub’s kitchen remained closed voluntarily until the case was brought to Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 20 July.
Magistrates heard that attempts had been made to clean the kitchen and remove pests but due to holes in the walls and doors, it was still highly accessible to rodents and, therefore, not fit to reopen.