A Holiday park cleaned up its act after inspectors discovered a mouldy fridge and raw meat next to ready-to-eat food.

Parkdean Resorts says it was “disappointed” by the unannounced inspection at its Romney Sands Holiday Village, where a dirty chopping board and salad chiller exceeding 20C were also found.

Folkestone and Hythe council workers noted no hand sanitiser in the kitchen and food in a fridge was kept at more than 8°C – exceeds the legal requirement in England and Wales.

The grim findings saw hygiene inspectors slap the Greatstone-on-Sea site with a two-star hygiene rating after the visit on March 20.

But kitchen bosses have managed to turn the holiday village around and have since bagged a five-star rating.

KentOnline obtained the report through a Freedom of Information request after the inspection.

“The tall fridge in the corner of the kitchen was very full,” the document states.

“Fridge storage space in the kitchen is very limited.

“I note you plan to change one of the walk-in freezers into a fridge which will increase the space significantly.

“Food in the tall fridge was more than 8C as the circulation was impaired by the food.”

Staff were found not to be probing food in the fridge when checking temperatures.

The cling film dispenser in the raw food area was branded “dirty” and staff were told they must have a separate one to prevent contamination.

“We take health and hygiene extremely seriously so we were disappointed our kitchen fell below our usual high standards on the day of the visit…”

“The yellow chopping board on the prep surface was dirty,” the report added.

“You must ensure chopping boards are capable of being kept clean or repaired.”

Yellow chopping boards are used for preparing cooked meat and poultry, such as ham, salami, and turkey slices.

“The lower part of the saladette fridge was 21C at the time of the visit,” the inspector said.

This was storing food sauces which were discarded at the time.

It was also discovered the top part of the fridge was working but the bottom section needed repairing.

“There was no sanitiser in the kitchen at the time of visit,” the report added.

“You must ensure this is available at all times and that all staff are trained on the contact time.

“Cleaning is required to the fridge and freezer seals to remove mould growth.”

Raw meat was also stored next to ready-to-eat food at the bottom of the fridge.

“Burgers are next to the cream and milk with other raw meat including steaks and gammon towards the back,” the inspector said.

“Raw meat must be stored underneath and away from any ready-to-eat food.”

However, an inspector revisited the site on May 2 and gave the holiday park a five-star rating.

As well as its Romney Marsh site, Parkdean Resorts also operates another across the Kent border in Camber Sands.

The firm is one of the UK’s leading holiday park operators and runs 66 sites across the country.

It says more than 90% of the population live within a two-hour drive of one of its parks and about three million holidaymakers stay with the firm each year.

A spokesperson for Romney Sands Holiday Park said: "This relates to an inspection in March, and we have since been rewarded a maximum five-star rating.

“We take health and hygiene extremely seriously so we were disappointed our kitchen fell below our usual high standards on the day of the visit.

“However, we took immediate steps and addressed the concerns raised.

“The environmental health officer returned as soon as they could and gave us the five stars once more.”