NO restaurants were forced to close by Redbridge Council last year because of breaches of hygiene rules - but the authority claims that is because they are some of the cleanest in London.

New figures obtained by the Guardian show that only one food outlet voluntarily closed down in the borough last year because of concerns over hygiene, while the council did not prosecute any food businesses for breaking health and safety regulations.

In comparison, neighbouring borough council Waltham Forest shut down 20 restaurants, cafés and fast food outlets for serious breaches, and only this week shut down another fast food chicken shop in Walthamstow.

Redbridge Council argues the figures are testament to the good work of their inspectors over the years, and demonstrate that the borough’s food outlets are some of the cleanest in London.

A spokeswoman said: "Because all food premises in the borough have been inspected regularly over the course of many years, our inspectors are finding that there are no longer the numbers of premises where extreme action such as closure or prosecution is needed.

"Because of the council's long-term commitment to this priority area of regulation, Redbridge has ensured that currently at least 90 per cent of its premises are ‘Broadly Compliant’ or better, in relation to legal requirements governing Food Safety (two stars or above on the ‘Scores on the Doors’ rating system).

"This is believed to be one of the highest ratings, if not the highest, for a London local authority."

But one restaurateur, who asked not to be named for fears they could be treated differently by food inspectors, was sceptical.

They said: "There’s no doubt they’re very thorough in what they do.

"They will stay in your place for hours, checking everything over and over until they find something.

"But if there’s any breach they will always give you a chance, and tell you to fix it by the time they come back in a few weeks.

"I’ve heard one place had an infestation of mice but they didn’t close it straight away because they gave them some time to fix the problem.

"They are definitely very thorough at their jobs but I don’t think it’s as clean cut as saying most of the restaurants round here are as clean as a whistle."

During 2008, Redbridge Council inspected 783 food outlets, issuing 25 improvement notices and 105 written warnings requiring compliance.

Over the same period, Waltham Forest Council inspected around 600 outlets and issued 70 improvement notices.

Redbridge Council said it could not reveal the name of the restaurant which voluntarily closed, because one of the conditions of such action is that "the business does not get exposed."