Dudley nursery owners forced to pay £3,000 after mouse droppings found
Bosses at a children’s nursery have been ordered to pay more than £3,000 after mouse droppings were discovered.
Fairytales Day Nursery in Bourne Street, Dudley, had an "exemplary" hygiene record until the droppings were discovered by the Dudley Council hygiene inspectors.
The kitchen also closed down for three days following the routine inspection, with meals for the youngsters being brought in from another nursery.
Wolverhampton magistrates heard that a routine inspection of the business in July last year found mouse droppings under cupboards and on the floor behind a refrigerator in the kitchen.
The court heard that the company had contracted a pest control company prior to the inspection to deal with the mice.
Bosses pleaded guilty to not having adequate procedures in place to control pests and failing to maintain food safety procedures.
The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay Dudley Council costs of £1,013 along with a victim surcharge of £170.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member responsible for health, said: "This is one of those unusual and unfortunate cases where a business has an exemplary track record when it comes to food hygiene, and something goes wrong.
"We have to balance that with our duty to keep people of all ages safe and well when they are eating food, and this prosecution was totally unavoidable. This is just a blip in an otherwise unblemished food hygiene record.
"Thankfully this business is back up to its usual excellent standards and I am sure that will continue to be the case."
The kitchen re-opened and has again received a five star rating.
