A BAKERY firm has been fined more than £18,000 for breaches in food hygiene at one of its Hampshire branches.

Cooks The Baker Ltd was prosecuted after a member of the public complained about cleanliness at The Palmerston in Romsey’s Market Place.

The store manager voluntarily shut up shop in 2008 after inspectors found conditions had “deteriorated seriously” over two years.

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Initially the closure was so staff could carry out a deep clean – but the owners eventually chose not to reopen and the café-bakery has been empty ever since.

Test Valley Borough Council brought a scheduled “re-inspection”

forward by a number of weeks because of the complaint.

When a team did inspect the premises on February 5 last year, they found that walls, floors, ceilings and vents were dirty while the back of some cooking equipment was rusty.

Further checks revealed a heavy build up of grease and dirt in the cooking griddle while the freezer seal was iced up and units for the storage of plates contained debris.

Outside, inspectors also found a build up of waste cooking oil on the ground and food waste containers with no lids.

The matter went to New Forest Magistrates’ Court in Lyndhurst, where Cooks the Baker Ltd pleaded guilty to three food hygiene offences and were ordered to pay a fine of £15,000. They were also told to pay costs to the council of more than £3,000.

Cooks the Baker Ltd pleaded guilty to breaking regulations that state articles, fittings and equipment coming in to contact with food should be cleaned and disinfected.

The firm also admitted contravening rules that state food outlets should be kept clean and in good repair and that adequate provisions should be made for the storage and disposal of food waste and refuse.

Councillor Sandra Hawke, the council’s portfolio holder for health, said: “The public has a right to feel confident that they can eat in food premises that are complying with food safety requirements.”