A rat filmed outside a sandwich restaurant at a Romford hospital led to a visit from environmental health officers. 

The Subway shop in Queen's Hospital was temporarily closed after a video showing the rodent scurrying around the seating area was posted to social media last month.

A spokesperson for Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has since confirmed the hospital has taken additional measures to solve the issue. 

They said: “As soon as we were made aware of the issue we worked with Sodexo, who run the restaurant at Queen’s Hospital, to tackle the problem.

“We closed the restaurant temporarily, increased the number of pest control visits and carried out additional cleaning and maintenance of outside ventilation points.”

Havering Council told the Recorder that they were made aware of the matter, confirming that an Environmental Health team has now conducted a visit. 

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The council has reported no "obvious route" into the premises for the rat, concluding that the rodent likely came in through the staff and customer entrance.

A spokesperson for Havering Council said: “We didn’t find any signs of a longer term or current infestation, with no evidence of droppings or other activity.

“Following the site visit the council is comfortable that the food contractor has an established pest control strategy in place and that they acted quickly and appropriately. We have no further concerns at this time.”