Mice-infested Portsmouth pub's licensees fined more than £8.5k

Portsmouth City Council prosecuted Dale Alan and Ian Young after finding droppings and a dead mouse at the pub in February 2012.

Council environmental health officers visited the pub after a tip-off. They found droppings in food and equipment cupboards, under work benches, behind freezers, under a coffee machine, on shelves for glasses in the bar, in the cellar and on the floor of the restaurant area.

There were also no soap or paper towels at the kitchen hand basin, and damaged areas of the floor which could not be properly cleaned. The council said food safety records had not been kept.

Alan and Young offered to close the pub voluntarily, while urgent action was taken to clean and pest-proof the premises. After a few days they were allowed to re-open, but further inspections showed continuing problems.

The council said it decided to prosecute because the men had failed to explain the poor standard of cleanliness and inadequate pest precautions, and had “put the health of customers at risk – despite being aware of the mouse infestation before the council's visit”.

The pair each admitted to seven offences under food hygiene regulations while directors of a food business. Each was fined £3,500 and told to pay £890– half the council's costs.

Alan Cufley, head of service for environmental health at the council, said: ​"We take cases like this very seriously. Public health was compromised at the Dolphin because of a clear disregard for food safety. Food hygiene is of prime importance, and we cannot tolerate poor standards and behaviour that puts customers at risk.”