From next month people using restaurants and cafes in Hart can find out how hygienic they are.

Hart District Council’s Safe to Eat campaign will put environmental health officers’ ratings of premises serving food on its website.

There will be three grades — unsatisfactory, satisfactory and excellent.

Commercial environmental health and licensing manager Richard Haddad said: “Those with an unsatisfactory rating would have to rectify their approach to food safety during a limited period of time.

“It will give people better choices as to where they eat and hopefully raise standards of premises, who will know that their scores will be published.”

Cllr David Murr said: “I think it is an excellent idea.

“People should be informed about the places they eat in.

“It also gives the restaurants a chance for improvement.

“Restaurants should not be ostracised to losing their licences as standards can sometimes slip during difficult times.

“Closing a restaurant because it is a serious offender after more than one inspection visit is justified as it puts the public health at risk.

“In this case they deserve everything they get.

Mr Haddad aims to clamp down on unsatisfactory premises by giving his team of environmental health officers more training and education to carry out more authoritative roles.

At present only two of Hart’s six officers, including Mr Haddad, are senior enough to close a premises on the spot.

The council is recruiting another officer, and all five less senior staff will be given the chance to do a degree which would give them the power to shut unsatisfactory businesses in the food industry and other businesses not meeting health and safety regulations.

In the last 18 months the environmental health and licensing department has closed three infested premises — one in Odiham (rats), one in Fleet (cockroaches) and one in Blackwater (mice).

Diseases carried by the rodents and cockroaches can cause humans to contract illnesses such as Weil’s disease and salmonella.

Weil’s disease is caused by infections found in rodents being transmitted to humans via their urine, and cockroaches carry salmonella.