THE MANAGER of a Sainsbury’s store has admitted there is a rat on the loose after one was spotted scurrying under a fridge last week and 'hasn't been seen since'.

An environmental health officer from Oxford City Council visited the Heyford Hill supermarket on Monday following concerns over rats.

One shopper, who did not want to be named, claimed he saw three rodents on counters near the store's bakery on Thursday morning.

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The 27-year-old man said: “I was in the store around 7am getting some stuff for my lunch for work when I saw three rats –one of them was huge. It was a massive shock.”

He added: “I said to someone on the counters ‘why are you open if you’ve got rats?’ and they didn’t know so I put my basket down and left."

Council spokesman Dave Lansley said the supermarket's manager informed the health officer one rat had been spotted on the store floor last Wednesday morning after a ceiling tile fell.

 

He added: "It ran under a fridge and hasn’t been seen since."

Mr Lansley said Mitie, which provides pest control services, attended on Wednesday night and carried out a 'detailed investigation', with recommendations that the business is 'in the process of implementing'.

He added: “Mitie are attending daily until three consecutive reports of no activity have been received. At present there is no further evidence of internal rat activity, with external sightings being noted.

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“A burrow has been sighted near to the Heyford Hill roundabout, and Mitie have started to bait here.”

Mr Lansley said the environmental health officer found no evidence of pest activity within the store when they visited on Monday but would continue to receive updates from the supermarket.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Like most food retailers, we have processes in place to deter pests and all our stores are routinely inspected by pest control.”