BUSINESSES in Prestwich and Whitefield with the lowest hygiene ratings have been revealed.

Food outlets in Prestwich that score just one out of five on the 'scores on the doors' grades issued by the Foods Standards Agency – meaning 'major improvement necessary' — include Cafe 7-11, El Greco Deli, Fortune House, Milano and Mozzarella.

Whitefield fairs a little better with four outlets with a rating of one — Bits N Pizza, El Passo Pizza, Kay Jays and Treasure City.

The inspections takes into account how well the business is meeting the law by looking at how hygienically the food is handled, and how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored.

A spokesman for Cafe 7-11 — which was badly damaged after a car drove into the front window in September last year — said that they have only recently opened after being closed for six months so aim to receive a higher score next time round.

Mozzarella said that their low score was down to a canopy being classed as a "fire risk". He said: "We need to refurbish the canopy area and hope to get a higher score next time."

A spokesman at Bits N Pizza said: "The only thing they told us to do was paint the kitchen and change our tiles. It was nothing to do with the food, the fridges, or anything like that. They said that if it wasn't for those issues they would give us a four, so now we are just waiting to be re-inspected."

The good news for both Prestwich and Whitefield is that no businesses were given a zero rating, and more were given the highest rating of five – meaning 'very good' — than businesses achieving all the other ratings combined.

A best loved chip shop in Prestwich is celebrating after being re-classified from a one to a four.

Armstrong's Fish & Chip Shop in Bury Old Road – famous for its jumbo cod — was reassessed after

Manager Ben Armstrong said: "The reason why we scored one initially was because we didn't have the right paperwork on the day.

"The inspector came back to assess us again on Monday and scored us a four, which will be backdated."

A spokesman for Bury Council said: "We can confirm that Armstrong's has been re-rated as a four out of five. The scores are only updated fortnightly, so they just missed the last update, but will be shortly."

The full list in Prestwich and Whitefield with a score of one out of five:

Cafe 7-11 – 470 Bury Old Road, Prestwich

El Greco Deli – 40 Bury New Road, Prestwich

Fortune House – 263 Bury Old Road, Prestwich

Milano – 412 Bury New Road, Prestwich

Mozzarella – 5 Kings Road, Prestwich

Bits N Pizza – 130 Bury New Road Whitefield

El Paso Pizza – 3 Radcliffe New Road Whitefield

Kay Jays – 5 Albert Place Whitefield

Treasure City – 144 Park Lane Whitefield

The other restaurants were contacted but declined to comment.

To find out the rating of a food business in Prestwich, visit ratings.food.gov.uk.