A CAFE staffed by people with learning disabilities is celebrating after being given the highest possible food hygiene score.

The Yellow Submarine cafe in Park End Street was given a five-star rating by inspectors earlier this month.

The charity employs eleven trainees and apprentices with learning disabilities allowing them to gain skills and confidence in the workplace.

Co-director Kate Sankey said: "We are absolutely delighted to get five-star scores for both our cafes.

"It's testament to the hard work all our staff have been putting in.

"They have worked extremely hard and we make sure there is a robust system in place with everyone aware of their responsibilities and making sure good practices are followed.

She added: "We hope this hygiene score will encourage lots of people to visit Yellow Submarine."

There was even more cause for celebration earlier this week when its Witney cafe also scooped up the top rating.

The trainees and apprentices work shifts between both the Witney and Oxford cafes.

Miss Sankey said: "It's part of their training and the qualifications they work towards.

"They complete their health and safety course and are very much aware of what is important in terms of good hygiene standards.

"It's not their responsibility ultimately but they are very aware of what's important and they have done a great job."

She added that the two cafes were different in size, which threw up a different set of challenges, but praised staff working across both venues for their good work.

The Park End Street cafe has been the number 1 cafe in the city according to the ratings website TripAdvisor for more than a year - no other place has five stars.

She said: "We are still number 1 and that's down to the wonderful customer service, we have had lots of reviews and people are always very complimentary.

The Witney cafe, at the Windrush Leisure Centre, was opened in 2015 and was voted the town's best restaurant in the same year.

Trainees also do a customer service course at Abingdon and Witney College.

Aside from the cafes the charity offers holiday programmes, youth clubs, breakfast clubs and residential holidays for people over the age of 11.

Its aim is to help teenagers transition into adulthood so they are able to access mainstream services, socialise independently and engage in meaningful work.

For more information on the cafe visit: yellowsubmarine.org.uk