A Maidstone butchers has been ordered to pay more than £34,000 after council officials uncovered a mouse infestation.

J C Rook and Sons Ltd, in The Mall Chequers, King Street, had to close for 11 days after the Maidstone Borough Council inspection last March as there was an imminent risk to customers.

Along with evidence of the infestation the standard of cleaning and equipment was very poor.

At a Medway Magistrates' Court hearing the family-run business pleaded guilty to four charges under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 and must now pay £34,610 in fines and costs.

In December Greggs in the same shopping centre was closed after a mouse reportedly fell through the ceiling.

Each food unit in The Mall Chequers is responsible for maintaining its own hygiene standards rather than it being the responsibility of the shopping centre’s management team.

Tracey Beattie, Environmental Health manager, said: “MBC takes matters like this very seriously and we are committed to ensuring there are no serious lapses in food hygiene in premises."

"Since our inspection in March last year, we have been working closely with J C Rook and Sons Ltd at The Mall to implement a number of changes to the way they manage their food safety and hygiene including a new pest control system.

"Maidstone Borough Council carries out more than 400 routine food hygiene inspections a year at premises, as well as providing advice and guidance to food businesses ranging from retailers to manufacturing establishments.

"Any business which is found to be in serious breach of the regulations will be prosecuted.”

The company runs 11 butchers across the county and employs 150 people.

Directors Chris and Andrew Rook said: “This incident is the first of its kind in any of our shops in 51 years of trading and we are deeply sorry it has happened.

"We wish to reassure our customers and suppliers that we did all we could as promptly as possible to rectify the situation and this is by no means a true reflection of the rest of our business.

"Mice were not unknown in The Mall Chequers and the poor condition of the pipework connected to other parts of the centre meant that mice could penetrate our premises. Another shop in the centre also suffered an incident that was widely reported in the press.

"As soon as we were made aware of the issue nearly a year and half ago, we took immediate action and closed the premises for a professional deep clean and a complete review of our system. We were open for business again within a matter of days and since then we have been trading normally."

They added: "The store manager, environmental health consultant and cleaner responsible for our shop at at that time are no longer employed by our company.

"They were immediately replaced by specialists in whom we have full confidence. We now have a contract with a new cleaning company that looks after all our shops and maintains them to the highest standards. We also have a superb new management team installed at Maidstone shop and a new food safety consultant who inspects all our shops thoroughly on a regular basis."

The company has since retrained all its staff and implemented a new food safety system.

The shop has since been given the highest hygiene rating by MBC.