A TEACHER says a restaurant served him 'the worst and one of the most dangerous meals' of his life including 'raw tasting' chicken and rice with hair in it.

Bobby Appleton, of St Helens Road, Leigh, had previously been a fan of the Zest Indian restaurant in Astley.

The 28-year-old complained to the Food Standards Agency about the meal he had there with his girlfriend in June and the restaurant's food hygiene rating has since been slashed from four to one following an inspection.

The ratings go from zero to five.

Bobby said: “The chicken wings starter was one of the worst and most dangerous meals I have had in my life.

“It was only when I bit into a piece of chicken and swallowed it that I realised it tasted raw. I asked for it to be taken away.

“When I was served my beef madras main course I could not believe there was hair in the rice.

“I had been there before and used to rave about how amazing the food was.

"It was one of the best Indian restaurants I had been to but it looks like that has changed.”

The East Lancashire Road restaurant's new Food Standards Agency report shows that its food safety management systems 'require major improvements'.

Food handing and cleanliness of the facilities and building also ‘require improvements’, according to the report published on June 26.

A spokesman for Zest restaurant said: “We accept that the chicken was undercooked and we did not charge the customer for the starter.

“With regards to the main course, all the kitchen staff wear hair nets so I do not know how that has happened.

“We value each and every one of our customers.

“We care about their experience and are happy to listen to them in order to solve any issues.

“We are disappointed with the rating of the latest inspection from the Food Standards Agency but we are hoping to address the areas that need improving to achieve five stars in the next one.”