City pub owner fined over £100,000 after mouse infestation
THE owner of a Birmingham city centre pub has been fined more than £100,000 after the venue was found to have evidence of mice infestation.
Birmingham-based pubco Mitchells & Butlers was fined £105,000 and ordered to pay £9,528 in costs at Birmingham Crown Court following a visit to The Railway in Hill Street by environmental health officers.
The court was told that EHOs from the city council visited the venue in February last year and found mouse droppings throughout the premises plus dirty conditions in the bar area and kitchen.
A Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice was issued on the day of the visit, closing the kitchen although the bar was allowed to continue serving drinks.
When officers returned to the premises several days later they found improvements had been made and the kitchen was allowed to reopen.
Mitchells & Butlers Retail Ltd, based in Fleet Street in Birmingham, had pleaded guilty to three offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 at an earlier hearing.
Cllr Barbara Dring, chair of the city council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: “People should be able to have confidence in the safety of the food served and cleanliness of any food business in Birmingham – regardless of whether it’s a pub or a posh restaurant.
“We want the city’s food businesses to thrive and as such our officers work closely with premises to ensure they achieve the necessary standards required to operate safely.”
The Railway was last inspected in August last year, when it received a Food Standards Agency rating of 5 (out of 5), which means very good.
