FAST food chain Burger King is serving up poison to exterminate rats raiding waste bins outside its restaurant in Chippenham.

The shift manager of the restaurant on the A350 in Par Drive says the problem has been “ongoing” for several months.

Rats have been spotted raiding waste bins in the back yard outside the outlet, which has a Barchester Healthcare Cepen Lodge care home behind.

One customer said he sat in his car watching “quite a few” rats trying to raid a waste bin, adding: “disgusting”.

The shift manager said: “It’s an ongoing problem which has been happening now for several months but less than a year.

“We are aware of it and are taking action to solve the problem, which has been reported to environmental health officials.”

The manager says they have employed a pest control company called Terminix to lay out boxes containing poison to exterminate the rats.

“They wait about two weeks and then come back to inspect them and see if they have got a result.

“It helps to reduce the numbers and it lasts two or three months and they come back again,” the manager said.

“We are dealing with it but it is difficult because the rats nest in the fence that separates us from the care home and it’s not on our land.

“We contacted the environmental health but they need to give us permission to go on their land or tackle the problem themselves.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot more stuff here for the rats and it is damaging us more than them.”

The Barchester Healthcare group said: “We can confirm that we have had no sightings of or issues with rats within Cepen Lodge or its grounds. This appears to be a problem faced by the fast food restaurant solely.”