Branch of KFC forced to close after rat is filmed causing chaos in Peruvian food court

Eyewitnesses said the two rats were hunting for scraps in the food court of the Plaza Norte shopping centre in Lima

The KFC restaurant was forced to shut after the incident (Youtube)

A KFC in Peru and a number of other restaurants have been forced to close after a video that showed a rat running across a food court in the country’s capital Lima went viral.

The footage shows diners at the Plaza Norte shopping centre climbing on chairs and running away as the rat was captured scampering across the food court’s floor.

Screams can be heard as some of the centre's staff attempt to capture the rat by treading on it.

According to eyewitnesses, two rats appeared and both attempted to grab discarded food from under the food court tables.

Thomas Casares Orozco, 24, who was eating dinner with his girlfriend at the time, said that the appearance of the rat caused utter panic throughout the food court.

Watch the rat cause chaos below

"There was chaos as people made off or climbed onto chairs and tables. I saw one bloke stamp on a rat but it didn't seem to stop it - it ran under a flower box and I didn't see it again."

The video which was captured by shopper Julianna Cad has now gone viral, with tens of thousands of internet users watching it on various social media sites.

Peruvian health and safety officials have confirmed that the KFC restaurant and other restaurants in the Plaza Norte will now be closed until the rat problem is dealt with.

Ministry of Health spokesman Jose Miguel Garcia said: "We have ordered the closure of all the food restaurants in the Plaza Norte and it has been fined.

"The unsanitary conditions could be a risk for human health."

This is not the first time a rat has caused panic in a KFC restaurant in Peru.