A MAN has spoken of his shock and horror after seeing several rats scurrying round the car park and “into the building” at a Bradford McDonald’s restaurant.

Syed Bukhari was at the McDonald’s in Ingleby Road, Girlington, when he witnessed the rats “running amok” among the litter-strewn car park, and also claimed to have seen some of the rodents close to the store.

He said the sight made him “sick to his stomach” and that the situation is a hazard to public health.

McDonald’s UK has said there have been “no issues” inside the restaurant, pointing to its five star food hygiene rating.

It added that staff will be increasing patrols in the car park to keep on top of litter problems.

Mr Bukhari was in the car park when he spotted the large rodents among the litter that selfish, disrespectful diners had dropped from their vehicles after having their meal at the fast food outlet.

In videos of the rats taken by Mr Bukhari, rats could be seen scurrying along the edge of the car park on a grass verge, passing litter left dumped in the car park and heading towards a bin, before moving further along towards the restaurant building and disappearing from view, before returning the way it came.

He said: “I personally witnessed several rats coming in and out of the car park.

“At one point I saw seven rats together until they were scared away by seagulls. From that point on they appeared in ones and twos.

“This made me sick to the stomach and as such I discarded my meal immediately.

“This is a huge public health hazard and requires immediate investigation and this infestation also requires immediate redress.

“Furthermore, staff were arriving and completely undisturbed by the sight of rats running around and the huge amounts of scattered rubbish and litter lying around the site including the car park.

“I shall not be visiting McDonald’s again anytime soon as I have a serious concern for public safety.”

There are millions of rats in the UK and they are known to carry diseases such as Weil’s disease, salmonella, tuberculosis, cryptosporidiosis, E.Coli, and foot and mouth disease.

They are drawn to dirty areas, particularly by rubbish left discarded on the floor by lazy people who can’t be bothered to put their litter in a bin.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s said: “We take cleanliness and hygiene very seriously in the area surrounding the restaurant.

“Pest control experts carry out regular routine checks of the site and there has been no issues inside of the restaurant which continues to have a five-star food hygiene rating.

“Our restaurant team will be carrying out additional patrols over the coming days to ensure that the car park is kept clean.”

Last summer, McDonald’s launched its ‘Get in the Bin’ campaign to highlight the problem of litter across the country, saying the levels of “irresponsible” behaviour shown by its customers was “deeply disappointing”.

It said it would partner with local authorities and litter groups to try and tackle the blight of littering on communities.