A rodent believed to have been a live rat fell from the ceiling and landed on a woman’s head as she dined at a fancy London restaurant.

The animal, only a baby at three inches long, was killed on impact when it hit the woman and bounced on to the table at expensive Smiths of Smithfield where the woman was eating with a group of friends.

Obviously horrified by what happened, their party started protesting at what had happened, alerting staff to the unwelcome garnish to their food.

‘We were disgusted,’ witness Paul Stubbs, a 56-year-old city worker from Harrow in North West London told the Sun.

‘It was only a baby but still about three inches long. It had obviously fallen from a nest in the open vents.

‘People were pretty horrified. Everybody stayed to finish, though I wouldn’t go back.’

The restaurant reportedly offered the group of 24 a £450 discount from their bill.

Staff allegedly told customers that the small rodent was a mouse – however, pest control experts told the Sun they were ‘fairly convinced’ it was a baby rat.

The restaurant, rated 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor, is situated next to the capital’s only working meat market and is famous for its rare breed steak and prime cuts.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Smiths of Smithfield for a comment on the rat/possibly a baby mouse incident.

A spokesman previously said: ‘At Smiths we pride ourselves on our hygiene and food safety management. We have investigated the matter fully and this is an isolated incident and we confirm that there is no risk to our customers.’

He went on to say the diners ‘were offered what was accepted as reasonable compensation.’

The Brits ooze with empathy.