Three years ago a fast food restaurant in Battersea that had a serious rodent infestation was shut down by food safety inspectors.

Chicken Spot in Falcon Road - as it was once known was riddled with mice and filthy food preparation surfaces covered in mouse droppings.

Gurminder Dhillion and his family own the shop next door - Maria's Fish & Kebabs - and decided to purchase Chicken Shop in an effort to renovate and regain the public's trust.

"The problem we had was the shop's reputation was so bad that people just wouldn't come inside the store," Gurminder said.

"We scrimped and saved every single penny we could to gut the shop out."

For nearly three years they saved up so they could have the place refurbished and they even changed the name to Sizzle n Shake.

But Gurminder said that Wandsworth Council still wouldn't give them an improved rating "because the restaurant was so dilapidated."

That was until late last month when it was given the highest possible food hygiene rating, a five.

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"Our goal was always to be awarded five stars so that we could win back the confidence of the local community," he added.

"This store always had a lot of potential but no previous owner was willing to invest the time and effort to make it shine.

"It's taken pretty much all of our efforts to turn the shop around and we are pleased with the result.

"But lesson learned, slow progress is better than no progress."

And there was one other thing they made sure to note.

"Always have a great relationship with the local community," he added.

"Without the local community you'll have no business, so always keep their trust and keep them happy."