Ol' dirty basket: five London food shops with a 'zero' hygiene rating

Apparently we're all stuffing our faces with takeaways these days, but if you do fancy venturing into the kitchen then make sure you aren't picking up your ingredients from one of the dirtiest shops in London. According to the Food Standards Agency's website, there are 14 food shops in the UK with a 'zero' rating for hygiene, and five of them are in London. One of the shops that's managed to score the lowest possible rating is a Tesco Express in Highgate, which recently closed its doors for a day to deal with a mouse infestation. Mmm, mice – just what you want to see hanging out among the mature cheddar. But even if there aren't swarms of rodents in the cheese aisle, you'll probably want to steer clear of any food shops with a big fat 'zero' in the hygiene department.

If you want to know which London food shops to give a wide berth, here's the full list:

Tesco Express, Swain’s Lane, Highgate.

Fine Foods, Harlesden.

Sira Cash & Carry, Southall.

Abbey Wood Afro Caribbean Cash & Carry, Willesden.

Cheam Food Centre, Sutton.

Want more cheery news? There are nine London boroughs in the top ten worst places to live in the UK.

But it's not all doom and gloom - here are some lovely London spots to get a nice cuppa.