Almost half of all the eateries in the South Hams have not been been checked by health inspectors in more than two years, according to research carried out by the BBC.

In a report published this week, the BBC said analysis of Food Standards Agency (FSA) records show that about 47 per cent of the 1,349 registered food establishments in the South Hams district have not been inspected since 2021.

There is a similar pattern in nearby Plymouth, where 44 per cent of restaurants and takeaways have not been inspected. In Cornwall, the figure is 18 per cent.

The rating scheme, from 0 to five, reflects the findings of an inspection and provides consumers with information about hygiene standards in food premises.

Like all local authorities in the country, South Hams District Council (SHDC) works closely with the FSA to carry out the inspections, normally between every six months and two years.

Cllr Denise O’Callaghan, SHDC’s executive member for environmental health and licensing, issued a statement, explaining that there had been a backlog of inspections since the Covid epidemic but that SHDC had been working closely with the FSA on a recovery plan.

She said: “During the Covid pandemic, officers were seconded to other areas of work and inspections were limited. This created a backlog of food hygiene inspections.

“The Food Standards Agency (FSA) agreed a recovery plan as we came out of Covid which has now completed. We continue to work closely with the FSA on an individual plan to reduce the number of food premises that need an inspection.”

Cllr O’Callaghan also revealed that there were recruitment issues in South Hams – this was also reported by Plymouth city council - saying it had been training existing staff to become qualified food inspectors.

Regarding the BBC analysis, she said some of the businesses within the list had since closed and no longer needed an inspection.

The Unison public service union told the BBC that the lack of inspections was a “serious public health issue which was leaving consumers at risk from unsafe food”.

The ministry of housing, communities and local government was quoted by the BBC, saying it would get local government “back on its feet” by providing councils with “more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system”.