The owner of a Christchurch takeaway shop that was shut down after inspectors found “extensive rodent infestation” is blaming a “poverty trap” for the pest problem.

The takeaway was closed after a council inspection in March found it breached food hygiene regulations. The case was referred to the Ministry of Primary Industries.

The Christchurch City Council did more than 780 inspections of food premises in the city from January 1 to May 10 this year.

The senior food safety officer said the restaurant that was closed had been infested with rodents.

“There were rodent droppings everywhere. It generally needed a thorough clean. There were a lot of back rooms filled with miscellaneous stuff that didn’t really relate to the business and shouldn’t have been there.

“They hadn’t been cleaning around the junk and so it gave a nice little place for the mice to nest in.”

However, the owner of the takeaway shop said he was “caught in a poverty trap”.

“I’m going broke, I can’t afford to keep up with everything. They don’t want small businesses to survive. It all costs too much to keep going.”