Spirit's filth 'lets down pub world'

Spirit Group, the managed division of Punch Taverns, has promised that remedial action is already underway to rectify its woeful food-hygiene track-record.

The vow comes after the managed operator, acquired by Punch Taverns in December 2005, was hit with its 17th fine for food hygiene breaches since 2002.

Swindon Borough Council food & safety team manager Janice Bardwell slammed Spirit after it was fined £22,500 for four food-hygiene breaches and two health & safety breaches at the Great Western in Swindon, Wiltshire.

"It lets the rest of the pub world down - people make assumptions and suddenly think all pubs are like this," she said. "It beggars belief. Big companies ought to be able to police themselves."

An inspection of the premises on 2 June 2006 found the kitchen littered with old food debris, grease and dirt. The hand-basins were dirty and had no soap or hand-drying facilities. Chefs left in sole charge of food preparation did not have the necessary qualifications and training.

The staff toilet was encrusted with dirt. An abandoned plate of mouldy burger and chips lay beside it, while a pay-phone had a Rentokil bait box on top of it.

Last year, Environmental Health News, the trade magazine for health inspectors, claimed Spirit had become a "byword for grime".

Managing director Andrew Knight said: "In the last year and a half, we have made a real move to up performance. We will see an absolute turnaround, partly due to investment in the estate and partly due to investment in training at Spirit Academy.

"Four full annual audits on each pub are carried out by our own food-safety team and product-quality team. The business development managers will carry out a further two to four inspections."