THE boss of a pub kitchen in Amblecote has been slapped with a court bill of nearly £3,000 after a string of hygiene problems were discovered.

Stephen Hull, who ran the franchised pub kitchen at the Robin Hood Inn in Collis Street, admitted six offences under the food hygiene regulations at Dudley Magistrates Court last Thursday (December 3).

Dudley Council’s environmental health officers inspected the kitchen in June 2014 and gave it a hygiene rating of just one out of five.

Officers revisited the kitchen in October last year to check necessary improvements had been made but found the premises and equipment dirty and in poor condition.

Walls and sockets were dirty and walls and ceilings had flaking paintwork.

Refrigerators, microwaves and the cooking range were also dirty and surfaces in the refrigerator were rusty.

Raw minced beef was stored next to ham and cheese rolls and staff had not received food hygiene training and there was no food safety management system in place.

The court heard Hull no longer runs the kitchen franchise at the pub but magistrates ordered him to pay a £1,800 fine plus £1,068 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Councillor Rachel Harris, Dudley’s cabinet member responsible for health, said: “While we prefer to work with businesses to make sure they abide by the law, we will not hesitate to take legal action against any food business owners who do not take our advice on board and who fail to meet their legal responsibilities.

“Nearly half of all food outlets in the borough are achieving the top hygiene rating of five and the vast majority achieve a satisfactory rating of three or more. I would urge consumers to check out hygiene ratings online as these will give consumers a glimpse of what is going on in the kitchen when they eat out, or behind the scenes at the places they shop.”

Ratings of food premises in Dudley can be viewed online at www.dudley.gov.uk/foodsafety or at www.food.gov.uk/ratings