£2,000 bill after dead rats found in Halesowen pub cellar
The boss at a pub where dead rats were found in a filthy cellar by hygiene inspectors has been served up a £2,000 court bill.
Holes were found where rodents had gnawed through doors at Picks in Halesowen town centre into the cellar where kegs of beer are stored, a court heard.
Pub boss Jennifer Austin pleaded guilty to failing to comply with provision concerning food safety and hygiene at the High Street bar.
She told the court that she trapped a nerve in her back when lifting a barrel, and that was why cleanliness levels had dropped.
Prosecutor Saima Ahmed Aziz told Wolverhampton Magistrates Court: "On February 24 last year a consumer safety team attended to carry out a routine health and safety inspection. They entered the cellar of the premises and found a number of contraventions.
"There were two dead rats and droppings on the floor. Photographs were taken."
There were also holes in the doors where the rats got in.
Austin was ordered to get the cellar cleaned up and return visits were made on February 26 and 29, when the problems had been resolved.
Ms Ahmed Aziz summarised a witness statement from health and safety inspectors, which said there was dirt on the walls and miscellaneous items strewn across the cellar. There were cobwebs as well as mould and flaking paint. There was also an accumulation of boxes with droppings found near them and there were two dead rats on the floor next to kegs of lager.
There was also rat droppings in the vicinity, close to items being stored. The local authority offices were contacted.
The 64-year-old, from High Street, Halesowen, representing herself, said in her defence: "At the time the inspectors came I had trapped a nerve in my back from lifting a barrel. You know it's all been cleaned up."
She added: "There is lots of rubbish next door and that's what has attracted the rats. I'm very sorry.
"The pub is not making a lot of money, we just about keep our heads above water. I've got all the work I was asked to do done."
Magistrates fined her £535, and ordered her to pay £1367.37 in costs.
She also had to pay a victim surcharge of £53, bringing the total sum to £1,955.37.
She remains in charge of the pub, which is still open.
