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Food hygiene must b improved according to a new study.

Bid to get a free meal backfired. Image by Olivia Harris/PA Wire

The owner of a top-rated bistro smelled a rat when a customer pulled a rodent from his pocket and shouted out in alarm in an attempt to get a free meal.

Restaurateur Kevin Smith, 48, branded fraudster Christopher Baker a “scumbag” for trying the trick at Borneo Bistro in Sunderland – which attracts Premier League footballers – saying it could have ruined the business he has built up over seven years.

Baker, 28, from Shields Place, Houghton, Tyne and Wear, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court last week. He was handed a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement, ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £7.25 compensation – the cost of his meal – to the restaurant.

(Press Association)