A British man is seeking action against a local pub after he claims a rat climbed up his leg and stole a french fry from his hand. Photo by A Jellema/Shutterstock

TROWBRIDGE, England, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A UK man reportedly had his french fry stolen by a rat after the animal ran up his leg in a local pub.

Reece Coombs was dining with his girlfriend at The Albany Palace pub in Trobridge, England when the rat climbed up his leg. The pub apologized for the incident and closed for a half an hour to have pest control resolve the rat problem.


"It felt like somebody had kicked me, then a rat ran up me leg and took the chip out of my hand and bolted," Coombs told the BBC. "I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I can't stand rats and you never expect that kind of thing in a restaurant."

The Albany Palace fully refunded Coombs for his meal, but he said he still plans to take further action against the pub.

"We aim to uphold the highest standards in our pubs at all times and apologize to customers for this situation," a spokesperson for Wetherspoon, the company that owns the pub, said. "We are not sure how the rats came into the pub, however there has been some fly tipping in the alley at the rear of the pub and this might have been a factor."

He also was able to confirm that the rat had taken the fry from the pub floor, but could not say for sure whether it actually climbed up Coombs leg.