A London Vietnamese restaurant has been shut down after dog meat was found in the freezer, a court heard.

Pho Na restaurant on Old Kent Road in Southwark was visited by health inspectors.

The inspectors found meat labelled as "goat wrapped in leaves".

Bromley Magistrates' Court heard the meat was sent away for analysis and tests found it was dog meat.

Inspectors also reported mice droppings and live and dead cockroaches at the restaurant.

Owner Vuong Quoc Nguyen has denied the allegations.

He pleaded not guilty to multiple food safety and hygiene offences.

Pho Na has been permanently closed according to Google

Nguyen's defence solicitor Piers Kiss-Wilson told the court the 47-year-old had no idea the so-called goat was dog meat.

He said his client insisted the product was given to him by someone else and was not for human consumption.

Kiss-Wilson said the owner had brought in pest control in an attempt to fix the issues at the restaurant.

Nguyen is due to stand trial at Bromley Magistrates' Court in December.

Bromley Magistrates' Court | PA

His restaurant is listed on Google as "permanently closed".

However, before it was shut down it had a 4.6-star rating.

Humane World has reported that five million dogs are stolen, trafficked and killed for their meet in Vietnam.

Dog meat is consumed in various of other countries, including Indonesia and China.

A new Vietnamese restaurant called Dac San Xu Nghe has since opened at the old site.

According to Companies House, the Daily Mail reported that it is operated by a 35-year-old Vietnamese national Hung Van Nguyen - appointed director on March 19.

Lewisham Council said in a statement that "following a failed food safety inspection at the former local business Pho Na, Lewisham Council commenced prosecution action in relation to food hygiene offences in 2023".

"The Council did not order the closure of the business, which was subsequently sold independently," the statement continued.

"As this matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to provide further comment at this time."