By Oliver Taylor
Wigston Fish Bar was fined £5,000 by Loughborough Magistrates’ Court last week and ordered to pay £1,555 in costs following the discovery of a rat infestation.
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council’s food safety team found numerous rat droppings in the main kitchen areas when inspecting the shop on November 9, 2019.
At last week’s ruling, it was revealed the chippy elected to cancel its private pest control contract in 2017. The magistrates said the business had “set itself up to fail.”
A council spokesperson said: “This case showed extremely serious breaches of food hygiene standards and it was lucky that customers weren’t made ill from food prepared in these conditions.
“The case demonstrates that this council will not hesitate to take firm action to protect residents and visitors.”
The chip shop, located in Leicester Road in Wigston, voluntarily closed to carry out necessary treatment after the discovery of fresh droppings and the odour of urine.
The shop had a five-star food hygiene rating as recently as April last year. The rating dropped to zero stars after the discovery of rats.
The Food Standards Agency website states the chip shop was inspected recently and a new food hygiene rating will be published soon.
However, the council’s statement says the inspection was carried out in September and the shop has since been brought back up to three stars.
The current grading system factors the cleanliness of the premises, all relevant documentation and the layout of the establishment.
The chippy is still rated 3.9 stars from 80 reviews on Google. The last three reviews, all within the last two weeks, are rated five stars.
One tongue-in-cheek Facebook user commented on the Spotted Wigston page: “I used to use this place quite often. Always gave you enough chips to feed an army.
“And nice too. And I wasn’t even rat-arsed.”
The council’s statement refers to Sandhu Saab Enterprises Limited as the company which runs the shop. However, several Facebook users claim the chippy has changed ownership since last November’s inspection.
Another Facebook user commented: “Urgh! This was LAST NOVEMBER if you read the article properly! It’s been turned over since then.
“I can’t say I use this place often but the place has had a big change over since this time last year! Give them a chance.”
Wigston Fish Bar was contacted for a comment on this story but did not respond.
The council’s statement can be read here.
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