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Hygiene: Coffee chain told to pay £8,000 after mouse droppings found in Merry Hill centre shop

A chain coffee shop at a busy Black Country shopping centre was shut down and the company ordered to pay £8,000 after inspectors found mouse droppings inside.

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The SOHO Coffee branch in the Merry Hill centre had been trading with excrement on surfaces inside, including in the servery area, Dudley Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday.

When inspectors from Dudley Council visited the Brierley Hill shopping centre on March 28 last year and found the mouse droppings as well as defects in the pest proofing equipment there, they closed it down with immediate effect.

"The premises was visited on March 28 last year by council officers... in response to information received," prosecutor Saima Ahmed-Aziz told the court.

"Mice droppings were found throughout the premises. The business was closed down under emergency powers.

"SOHO Coffee was invited to attend an interview. The company did not attend, however they did submit a statement under caution.