A 'DIRTY' city centre falafel kiosk has been slammed by hygiene inspectors after they discovered the toilet and food preparation area were separated by a curtain.

Najar's Place, in St Giles' in Oxford, was given a one star rating by Oxford City Council environmental health officers following a routine visit.

Officers also said the 'very small' size of the premises did not permit good food hygiene practices and advised management to reduce the amount of food on offer.

Their report read: "The premises is very small, there is a significant amount of food handling taking place and I am concerned there is over-trading.

"Either reduce the complexity of the menu or reduce the amount of food handled."

They said the 'curtain for a toilet door' was no acceptable and ordered the business to either remove the toilet or create a separate area for it.

Staff were also found to have a lack of food hygiene knowledge and were even seen handling ice with their hands.

Inspectors were also concerned about the 'dirty' state of the kiosk and feared some parts were 'incapable' of being cleaned thoroughly.

It read: "The unit was unacceptably dirty - thick accumulations of dirt and food debris were evident around and beneath equipment, in the fridges and freezers, at wall floor junctions and high level cleaning was poor.

"The sticker was also still on the stainless steel work top that has the panini griddle on it.

"So as not to attract pests and maintain an adequate standard of hygiene the sticker must be removed and kitchen must be thoroughly cleaned."

The kiosk, which serves a wide range of pitta, baguettes and paninis as well as hot and cold drinks, scored 'fair' when in came to food hygiene and safety but was let down with a 'poor' rating in structural compliance and inspectors said they had 'little' confidence in management.

But issues over high-risk foods and potential food poisoning bacteria were still raised by inspectors.

They said: "The food in the display chillers was being stored at around 9C – to avoid growth of food poisoning bacteria, high-risk foods, which require chilling, must be stored at or below 8C.

"Food including mayonnaise tubs and bags of chickpeas were being stored on the floor and some outside the unit.

"To avoid contamination food must be stored inside and not on the floor."

Health and safety concerns were also highlighted as staff had no safe way of retrieving items stored at a height and employees were seen climbing on equipment to reach the higher shelves.