A PUB has been given a food hygiene rating of zero after inspectors found mouse droppings on kitchen worktops and a rat infestation.

The Pear Tree in Collins Green was handed the lowest possible rating by the Food Standards Agency following its visit in November, meaning that ‘urgent’ improvement is necessary.

Mouse droppings were found on the Collins Green Lane pub’s kitchen worktop as well as on floors and shelves, while rat droppings were seen in the function room and a disused toilet.

A Food Standards Agency report into the pub, seen by the Warrington Guardian, stated that work surfaces in the kitchen were dirty with further evidence of mouse droppings behind a small fryer.

An ‘excessive accumulation of refuse’ in the function room - which is used for storage - had led to an infestation of rats while external bins were also ‘overflowing, with evidence of rat activity’.

Flies were seen by inspectors in the kitchen, repeatedly landing on uncovered foods such as roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

No soap or paper towels were available at the kitchen wash basin, which also had no hot water supply – nor did toilet sinks.

Mouldy lemons were stored in a fridge next to ready to eat foods, while a fridge in the function room was not clean.

A waste pipe serving sinks in the pub was leaking water onto a shelf, while inspectors found the kitchen’s unpainted wooden worktop to be ‘inappropriate for use with high risk foods’ due to the risk of contamination.

Flooring in the kitchen was not clean and damaged, while the kitchen’s door was dirty and ‘in a poor state of repair’.

Damage to the kitchen’s walls and ceiling was also seen.

The Pear Tree’s owner Steve Hewitt denied that droppings were found in the kitchen area of the pub and claimed that he had been ‘unfairly treated’.

He said: “They found droppings in a room at the side of the pub that we use as storage but nothing was found in the kitchen area, and the kitchen is sanitised every time after its used.

“I personally think it was all blown out of proportion, bearing in mind we are surrounding by fields.

“Warrington Borough Council said it was an infestation, but our pest controller said totally different.

“The pub was shut for a number of weeks, but other than having the droppings cleaned up there wasn’t anything else that we needed to do to reopen.

“We would never knowingly put anyone at risk of contamination and I feel as though we’ve been unfairly treated.”