THE dirtiest restaurant in Brighton has been revealed.

Cafe Royale in Preston Street, Brighton, was given a zero hygiene rating in September – the lowest grade possible.

Brighton and Hove City Council inspectors found major improvement was needed across all categories.

The Argus went to the restaurant yesterday and found it had a level four rating on display in its window.

We asked staff about it and were told: “The lady from the council came down and said it was clean, spotless and everything had been sorted out.”

We asked whether the council gave the level four rating and staff said: “No. We can can take it down if you like.”

The Argus: Above, the level four rating in Cafe Royale's window

Businesses in England are not legally required to put their hygiene ratings in the window.

The cafe, which was full of customers when we visited, was said by the council inspectors to need urgent improvement in all three categories used to rate hygiene practices:

1) Hygienic food handling

This includes preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.

2) Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building

This includes having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control.

3) Management of food safety.

This includes systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

There are six levels of ratings a business can receive ranging from zero (urgent improvement necessary) to five (very good).

Nick Wilmot, food safety team leader at the council and one of those responsible for giving the ratings, said: “Our main drive is public protection and public health and since we have been doing this, hygiene has improved.”

Talking about why making the ratings public was necessary, Mr Wilmot said: “This is another tool we use to improve standards within business.

“Before this it was between us and the business.

“Now it’s transparent. Why shouldn’t everyone know about that – if I was taking kids into restaurant why shouldn’t I know beforehand whether they have bad hygiene practices.”

Mr Wilmot added that if there was any serious risk to the public then the business would be closed down.

The frequency of food safety inspections varies from every six months to three years.

The council decides the frequency of inspection based on the risk posed by the food business.

Businesses can appeal and have a “right to reply” to give their view on their food hygiene rating.

Businesses can also request a re-visit and a re-score if they have made the necessary improvements – although re-scoring will incur a cost.

To read more detail about the restaurants given poor ratings and what the inspectors found, go to the argus.co.uk.

These restaurants were visited by inspectors at different dates as far back as December 2016 and many will have already taken steps to make the necessary improvements.