Popular pub fined £105,000 for mice infestation
A Birmingham-based pub firm was today (19 August 2016) ordered to pay £114, 528 after evidence of mouse activity was found throughout one of its city centre pubs.
Mitchells & Butlers Retail Limited, which is based at 27 Fleet Street in Birmingham, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 at an earlier hearing (29 April 2016).
The firm – which runs 1,700 pubs and restaurants across the UK, including The Railway on Hill Street – was fined £105,000 and ordered to pay £9,528 in costs at Birmingham Crown Court.
Birmingham City Council brought this case after environmental health officers who visited The Railway on 18 February 2015 found mouse droppings throughout the premises plus dirty conditions in the bar area and kitchen.
A Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice was issued on the same day partially-closing the food business: the kitchen was closed but the bar remained open to the public.
When officers returned to the premises on 20 February 2015, the found improvements had been made and a schedule of works had been completed, so the kitchen was allowed to reopen.
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 on 4 August 2015, when it received a Food Standards Agency rating of 5 (out of 5), which means very good.
