Bosses at a filthy pub have been ordered to pay over £30,000 after inspectors found rat droppings in their storerooms. This discovery prompted the closure of The Grapes Inn to protect the public. The shocking state of the pub kitchen came after food inspectors found everything from out-of-date food to leaky fridges.
On its website the pub claims to be “providing proper pub grub offering real value for money”.
Now the landlord has been given food for thought after being fined £30,894 at Teesside Magistrates’ Court. He admitted 11 food safety and hygiene offences following an investigation by Redcar and Cleveland Council.
The council’s barrister, Morgan Brien, said there was substantial disrepair to both the structure and equipment including holes in the walls, cracked and broken wall and floor tiles and exposed bare brickwork. Numerous rat droppings were present in the food storage shed, in and around stored food, around food packaging, and behind the chest freezers. Rat droppings were also found in a storage room of the main building.