Surrey pub hit with fine over rat-infested kitchen

The owner of a pub in Surrey has been hit with a £4,515 fine after failing to deal with a rat infestation in his kitchen.

Kevin Healy, owner of Gold Keg Inns, pleaded guilty at Guildford Crown Court to having no adequate procedures in place to control pests at the Jolly Farmer pub in Weybridge.

Healy was also told to pay costs of £3,738.48 during the hearing on Friday 13 May, and also received a caution after admitting to failing to implement a food safety management system at the pub.

Officers from Elmbridge Council visited the premises on 17 December 2009 after receiving complaints about the rats from a member of the public, the court heard.

Jim Phipps, manager of the Jolly Farmer at the time of the offence, had previously been charged £550 and ordered to pay costs of £400 for failing to keep the pub clean.

Tony Deag, Head of Environmental Health & Licensing at Elmbridge Council, said: "This was a clear case of mismanagement at the pub, which allowed a rat infestation to get out of hand for around three months in a kitchen where food continued to be prepared and was only properly rectified when the Council became aware and intervened.

"The significant fine imposed in this case clearly demonstrates the seriousness with which the Court viewed the failure of Gold Kegs Inns Ltd. to act appropriately by not implementing a pest control contract to address the problem."

He added: "To produce safe food consistently requires a commitment by food business proprietors and management, which was clearly lacking in this case.

"However, residents can be reassured that such cases are rare and they can have confidence in where they eat or buy food in the Borough, as can be seen on the Council's Food Hygiene Ratings web pages, where the results of Officers' inspections show that most of the food premises in Elmbridge are of a high standard."

The PMA tried to contact Gold Keg Inns but received no response at the time of publishing.