A LIDL store in Westhoughton was told to make major improvements to food safety after receiving a one-star food hygiene rating.

The store on The Fairways was given a one-out-of-five rating when it was inspected by Bolton Council on June 27.

Food handling, cleanliness and the condition of facilities at the store were deemed to be “Generally satisfactory”, but management of food safety was marked as “Major improvement necessary”.

The part of the inspection where the store fell short covers the checks that are in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat.

It also looks for evidence that staff know about food safety and that the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

A Lidl spokesman said: “We can reassure customers that we take food hygiene extremely seriously and were therefore very disappointed with this score, which is not representative of the high standards we demand across the business.

“We can confirm that corrective action was immediately taken, which we are confident will result in a higher rating.

“We look forward to welcoming the local authority back to the store at their earliest possible convenience.”

Hygiene standards are set by the Food Standards Agency, but inspections are carried out by local authorities.

Lidl is the only supermarket in the borough to receive a hygiene rating below three, although the German-owned giant’s other three Bolton branches each achieved the highest score.

Lidl stores in Bolton’s Crompton Way, Derby Street and Albert Road in Farnworth, were all given a five-out-of-five rating.