Porter and Sorter in Croydon. Pic: Croydon Council

A pub near East Croydon station which had mouse droppings, dirty fridges and greasy pipework has seen its national owner fined £180,000 by Croydon Council late last week.

The owner, Marston’s plc admitted that its pub, Porter and Sorter in Croydon was guilty of poor hygiene at Croydon Magistrates Court. The judge, Susan Green ordered Marston’s to pay a fine of £180,000 plus £5,854.88 costs.

A Marston’s spokesperson said: “We accept the outcome of the investigation and the prosecution’s case; this was an isolated incident and we have added more rigorous process across our estate to ensure we do not experience such extremes again.”

Councillor Hamida Ali, cabinet member for safer Croydon and communities said: “Anywhere that serves food needs to have good hygiene, and this pub’s customers could have faced a real health risk if council inspectors hadn’t visited.

“This case is shocking because it involves a popular local pub whose owners are major players in the industry and should have known better. The council will continue to protect residents by taking action against businesses that fail to meet the law on food hygiene.”

Inspectors from Croydon Council visited Porter Sorter on 12 February 2018 in Billinton Hill. They found mouse droppings in many places, all fridges were dirty and grease on a ventilation fan and pipework.

Mouse droppings in Porter and Sorter. Pic: Croydon Council

The inspectors also found broken wall tiles, dirt under skirting and broken glass behind the prosecco fridge in the main bar.

The owners immediately closed the kitchen at the council’s request. The kitchen reopened on 16 February 2018 after it had fixed the issues.