A MOBILE caterer has been slammed in a damning report after health inspectors discovered "filthy" cleaning equipment.

A report from the Food Standards Agency, who inspected Road Hog Food in the Northbound Lay-by in Romsey Road, Nether Wallop, said an "urgent improvement" was necessary and gave it a zero out of five-star score.

Inspectors, who worked with Test Valley Borough Council, found "brown water" coming from a tap used by employees to wash their hands.

They saw staff were unaware the pipe used for washing hands was "drawing water from the waste water container".

The officer who carried out the inspection wrote in the report: "The waste pipes to both of the sinks were black with mould and the water inlet pipe to the right hand sink was an opaque plastic, where you could clearly see inside the pipe was built up with greying slime."

Health inspectors stressed the staff were selling out of date food when they visited on March 2.

They discovered black pudding "with a use by date of February 16", adding it is "an offence" to sell out of date food.

"A mouldy black pudding and tomato in the fridge", as well as a "mouldy hash brown in the freezer" were also uncovered in the inspection and immediately thrown away.

Cross contamination was also a major issue during the officer's visit to the mobile caterer.

They wrote: "A packet of raw sausages had been opened and not resealed or placed in a lidded container; raw sausages and bacon were stored above ready-to-eat cans of drink and salad.

"Raw foods, such as bacon and sausages, are always stored below ready-to-eat foods."

The fridges and freezers in the mobile caterer came under fire after "food debris and a pool of spilled sauce in the door of the shelf" were found.

"These units must be cleaned and sanitised before being used for food storage again," the inspector advised.

Following the inspection, the Environmental Health officer concluded Road Hog Food's "sinks and work area were greasy", adding a "thorough deep clean" would be needed to improve hygiene standards.

Since the inspection, health inspectors noted "the standard of cleanliness was much improved" when they returned on March 5.