A FLAGSHIP town centre restaurant originally given a poor rating by hygiene inspectors has scored top marks after a second check.

East Z East in Blackburn’s King George’s Hall only got a ranking of 1 or ‘major improvement necessary' on its first inspection on October 2.

Following an unannounced revisit from Blackburn with Darwen Council’s environmental health officials its is now rated 5, the top ranking of 'very good'.

The initial inspection of the the £350,000 Punjabi eatery, which includes a South Asian evening restaurant and daytime cafe, coincided with problems with equipment, documentation and water supply.

East Z East director Zahid Iqbal said yesterday: "We are over the moon and absolutely delighted with this top rating.

"We had problems on the original inspection but this is the ranking that we want and our customers expect us to have.

"Going forward we now have to keep our hygiene standards up so we continue to get the top rating of 5 in future."

READ MORE: East Z East Blackburn gets poor hygiene rating on opening

The restaurant seats 250 diners, has 11 private booths, a 50-seater bar and a luxury VIP area.