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“Horrified” diners were left stunned when a rat reportedly fell onto a woman in an upmarket City restaurant.

The rodent plunged onto the female diner before bouncing off her and on to her table at Smiths of Smithfield in Farringdon, the Sun reported.

The newspaper said the rat, which was killed by the fall, was then immediately removed by restaurant staff.

Paul Stubbs, 56, from Harrow, told the Sun: “All of a sudden there was a commotion and what looked like a rat fell from the ceiling.

“It hit somebody’s head and ended up on the table.

“We were disgusted. 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 woman, who was said to be on a work night out, was given £450 off the bill by the restaurant, the newspaper added.

A spokesman said the incident was investigated as a matter of urgency.

He 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 added diners “were offered what was accepted as reasonable compensation."