The manager of the Epping Forest restaurant with the lowest hygiene rating has blamed a personal accident for the poor score.

Royal Ribs in Loughton High Road is the only premises in the district to have a rating of zero from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The “score on the door”, awarded on March 23 this year, is based on hygienic food handling, condition of the building – including cleanliness and ventilation – and document management.

Manager Khalid Bokhari said the rating dropped when he was off work for more than a year.

He said: “I had an accident and I was in bed for 13 months and now I have just come back.

“Once you drop, it is a long way back to the top.

“I would like to see us working hard to get it back.”

A spokesman for Epping Forest District Council, which assesses restaurants for the FSA, said that although food handling at Royal Ribs varied between good and satisfactory, it was a lack of documentation that caused the lowest rating.

In 2015 it had a rating of one and two years previously it was rated three.

The spokesman said: “The Food Hygiene Rating System places significant weight on food business operators to have documentation appropriate to their business... actual practices observed may be satisfactory and pose no imminent risk to the food or those consuming it.”

The takeaway specialises in fried chicken and ribs, and is open from noon until midnight daily.

The website claims the restaurant’s “well-trained team create magic in our kitchen”.

It adds: “It is our commitment at Royal Chicken and Ribs to provide excellent food, service and an experience for you and your family to enjoy for many years to come.”

Despite the lowest rating, Mr Bokhari said the food is still safe to eat.

He said: “We have made some improvements, obviously we don’t like to degrade ourselves, we want to make ourselves better.

“We have improved a little bit and we are trying to do a little bit more to make it better.”

Royal Ribs will be re-assessed for a new rating this month.