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£9,500 fine for ‘heavily infested’ pub
A PUB continued to serve food from its “heavily infested” kitchen even after council inspectors discovered a dead mouse in the bar, a court has heard.
The Spirit Group, owner of Marlborough Arms in Torrington Place, Bloomsbury, was fined £9,500 and ordered to pay £1,400 costs at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Deputy District Judge Susan Staveley said: “The thought of people eating in a premises that operates like this sounds quite frightening.”
The court was told that environmental health officers who visited the Marlborough on April 4 found rodent holes, a dead mouse and evidence of an infestation on the ground floor and the kitchen upstairs.
Prosecuting, Arnaud Van Den Bout said: “The condiment cupboard was heavily infested with droppings on every surface.”
But council inspectors, who issued the pub with a warning, allowed staff to continue to serve food until a repeat visit three days later showed little improvement.
This time droppings were found in a batter mix, on an egg box and all over the kitchen floor. The kitchen was closed immediately.
Mark Watson, representing the Spirit Group, said pest controllers from Rentokil had been called to deal with the problem the week before inspectors made their first visit but had failed to turn up.
The infestation had been eradicated by April 12.
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