Greggs – the perfect solution when you're running late and skipped breakfast so you can get to work on time.

Or, if you're up at an ungodly hour to catch the first train from Colchester Town and you need a shop – any shop – which offers a hot sausage roll, Greggs is often your go-to chain.

It may not offer the healthiest of options, but few can argue it doesn't do the basics well.

Colchester certainly has its fair share of the fast-food chain.

There are two in the city centre, with one on the High Street and another on Long Wyre Street.

There are plenty others dotted around too, however.

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There is a branch just outisde Parson's Heath, whilst another is in the Fiveways retail park off Peartree Road; further out, there is a branch off the A12 near Feering.

But despite there being five Greggs across the city already, Colchester is set to get two more.

One is planned to open in Culver Street West after plans were approved earlier this year.

Another is set to open as part of the Northern Gateway development, which will have a Cineworld, Travelodge with 90 rooms, and a Wendy's restaurant.

Naturally, everyone wants to make sure that the early morning coffee or the grab-and-go sausage roll is coming from a Greggs which has a good hygiene ratings.

So how do the current stores fare, according to the Food Standards Agency?

Thankfully, they all all rank highly when it comes to hygienic food handling, cleanliness, and management of food safety.

Colchester High Street

Prime location – Greggs in Colchester High Street is likely to have one of the higher footfalls of the city's branches (Image: Google Street View)

A fixture on high streets across the UK, Greggs on Colchester High Street has a five-star food hygiene rating.

Long Wyre Street 

Competitive – two branches of Greggs are a very short walk from each other in the city centre (Image: Google Street View)

A short walk away from the High Street Greggs, the Long Wyre Street Greggs also has a five-star rating.

St Christopher Road

Far out – there is a Greggs in Parson's Heath for those who need their early morning fix without heading into town (Image: Google Street View)

Continuing the tradition of highly-rated Greggs shops in Colchester, this shop also has five stars, according to the Food Standards Agency.

Fiveways Shopping Centre

New on the block – Greggs was not originally part of Fiveways Retail Park (Image: Google Street View)

Fiveways Retail Park, just off Peartree Road, has not always had a Greggs.

In fact, pictures show the unit was under construction in around 2018, but since then, its food hygiene ratings have been strong.

It is currently rated as having five stars by the FSA.

Feering Service Station

Roadside – one Greggs is just off the A12 towards Marks Tey (Image: Roadside)

Greggs is a staple of most roadside service stations, and in Feering it is no different.

Thankfully, it was awarded five stars by the FSA at its last inspection.

It means all of Colchester's Greggs branches currently have five stars – one would hope the next two branches operate to a similarly high standard.