A HOTEL in Leasowe has been given a zero-star hygiene food rating after a damning inspection uncovered an infestation of mice.

The Leasowe Castle Hotel was handed the worst food hygiene rating following an inspection on August 19.

Officials uncovered a catalogue of serious issues at the venue including a major infestation of rodents, dirty and greasy equipment and out of date food.

'Urgent improvement is necessary'

According to the Food Standards Agency website, one of the areas, "hygiene food handling" which falls under food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling, and storage, needed 'Urgent improvement'.

The "management of food safety" which falls under the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat and evidence that staff know about food safety also required 'urgent improvement'.

And the 'cleanliness and condition of facilities and building' followed suit, needing 'urgent improvement' as well.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Wirral Council revealed that the standard found at the time of the inspection were “wholly unacceptable due to the widespread activity of mice that was found”.

The report stated that the hotel “requested to proceed with a voluntary closure of the business”.

Under the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, the takeaway was rated 25 for hygiene (the best score is 0, the poorest score is 25) 10 for structure (the best score is 0, the poorest score is 25) and 30 for confidence in management (the best score is 0, the poorest score is 30).

Among the issues noted by inspectors was evidence of widespread activity of mice throughout the food business - in the satellite kitchen, bistro bar and throughout the main kitchen; under and behind equipment and on shelves where food and food equipment were being stored, in food storage boxes, and next to food equipment, in food items such as scone mix, next to bowls, plates, cleaning equipment, next to blue roll used for cleaning and hand drying and next to clingfilm and foil used to cover open foods and inside an open box of ready to eat croutons.

The report also stated that the standard of cleaning at the premises was “poor” with a build-up of “dirt, dust debris and grease” underneath and behind equipment and behind and on top of shelving throughout the premises.

Rodent droppings were also found in containers of sauces and dry ingredients as well of on shelving where cooking utensils were stored. An issue inspectors said chefs were aware was an “ongoing problem”.

The report continued: “You have stated that you were not aware of the ongoing pest problem however it had been noted on your in-house HACCP pest record that a rat had been seen in the dry store WC11/08 but no action had been taken regarding this.

“Droppings were evident on the floor and on low-level shelving in the main kitchen area, shelving in the rear storage area, behind fridges and freezers, in the coffee area, in food equipment boxes in the main kitchen and on shelving where food was stored, inside food items such scone mix and also in an open container of ready to eat croutons.

“It is unclear why these had not been cleared away or why you had not continued to clean the affected areas when chefs were aware there was an ongoing problem.”

The report also highlighted how staff were ticking to say pest checks were completed and there were no signs.

It said: “Staff had reported on your pest control log sheet that a rat had been seen in the kitchen, but management had not been made aware, because they had not checked this paperwork or implemented any corrective actions to control the issue. Management had been made aware of issues relating to pest issues at the premises, but no action had been taken to tackle the problem.”

A number of foods were also found past their use-by date including beef stew, BBQ sauce, caramelised onion, hummus, carrots, cauliflower, new potatoes, tomato soup, garlic bread, chocolate fondant, sticky toffee pudding, cheese, seabass, haddock, and burgers.

Belly pork and chicken were also both found to have no date label.

A spokesperson for the The Leasowe Castle Hotel said: “The food hygiene at Leasowe Castle Hotel and safety of our guests has been and still is our top priority since the inspection in August 2024.

“We have invested in extensive training and implemented new hygiene routines to ensure that this is an issue that is eradicated.

“Due to the age of the castle, we understand the importance of having heightened hygiene measures in place.

“Since our visit in August, we have received another inspection with feedback of hygiene and cleanliness improvement, we have appealed our score and are awaiting a formal reinspection.”