Restaurant bosses fined for rodent infestation

Mar 12, 2010

Magistrates have imposed substantial fines on the former owners of a Doncaster restaurant which was overrun by mice. The previous owners of the restaurant – which is now under new ownership - were prosecuted by Doncaster Council after health inspectors also found evidence of rats at the premises.

The business owners pleaded guilty at Doncaster Magistrates' Court to breaches of Food Hygiene Regulations.

The company was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500 within 28 days. The company director was also fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500 at a rate of £500 per month.

The restaurant was closed for a month last year after a snap inspection showed up the hygiene problems. In March 2009 the council applied to Doncaster Magistrates' Court for a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order, after finding evidence of a mouse infestation and rat activity at the restaurant.

This was followed by a prosecution under food hygiene regulations last month. Environmental health officers discovered a dead mouse in the kitchen along with mouse droppings next to food containers, plates and bowls. There was also evidence of rat activity.

Although no customers had complained about feeling ill after eating at the restaurant, the infestation presented a risk of serious disease such as E.coli.

A council spokesman confirmed the premises have since changed hands and the new management is not connected to the previous ownership.

After the hearing, Doncaster Councils' director of neighbourhoods and communities, Jane Miller, said: "The standards of food hygiene here were completely unacceptable. Staff were putting people's health at serious risk.

"I am pleased that the company's director has been given a fine personally, this sends out a clear message that restaurant owners must take responsibility for what goes on in their kitchens."