Kingswinford pub company fined after dead mice, droppings and food past sell-by-date discovered by health inspectors
A company which formerly ran a pub on Kingswinford High Street has been ordered to pay more than £23,000 after pleading guilty to multiple food safety offences.
Guilty pleas were confirmed by Cottage 2021 Limited during a hearing at Dudley Magistrates Court on July 30, following a prosecution brought by Dudley Council for multiple food safety offences at the Cottage Inn, with offences relating to two separate visits carried out by council officers in October 2023 and July 2024.
The first visit, conducted on October 3, 2023, followed a complaint about a mouse sighting at the premises and saw officers discover two dead mice in the ground floor boiler room and another under the sink in the first-floor kitchen.
Mouse droppings were found in several areas, including the cellar, cleaning cupboard, food storeroom, bar, and kitchen, while the premises also showed signs of poor cleaning standards, with greasy surfaces and structural neglect.
The officers also found that pest proofing was inadequate, and the food safety management system was not being properly implemented.
Due to the immediate risk to public health, the council exercised emergency powers under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
The business was allowed to reopen after officers confirmed that all necessary cleaning and pest control measures had been completed and that there was no evidence of ongoing pest activity.
A visit on July 23, 2024 revealed further breaches, with officers finding several food items past their use-by dates, including mixed grills, stilton cheese, faggots, and coleslaw.
Pub director Samuel Dainter entered guilty pleas to six food safety offences and was sentenced at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on January 15.
The court ordered Cottage 2021 Limited to pay £8,000 for the October 2023 pest control offence and £12,000 for the July 2024 unsafe food offence, along with a victim surcharge of £2,000 and prosecution costs of £1,408.
The company has now ceased trading.
Councillor Phil Atkins, cabinet member responsible for trading standards and environmental health, said: “Our environmental health team is there to ensure businesses prepare and serve food in a way that meets the expected standards, and I would like to praise their work with our legal teams to secure this court result.
“This case is yet more evidence that we will not hesitate to pursue businesses who are not complying with the health standards that clearly set out, and I am pleased to see that justice was served in the courts.”
