A WELL-KNOWN butcher's shop has been fined more than £4,600 for six food hygiene offences including failing to provide hot water for staff to wash their hands after going to the loo.

Marley’s Butchers, in Stockton's Castlegate Shopping Centre, was accused of breaching food hygiene regulations after it was visited by Stockton Borough Council's environmental health officers last September.

Owner of the family business, Andrew Marley, 52, of Dunelm Road, Stockton, appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to the offences.

The charges all involved failing to comply with food safety and hygiene regulations. Specific breaches included: floors, storage areas, food equipment and fridges in a filthy condition; ready-to-eat food stored and prepared in raw meat area risking cross-contamination; no hot running water to the toilet wash basin and failing to train staff in food hygiene techniques or to put a suitable food safety management system in place.

In mitigation Mr Marley said the hygiene issues on the day of inspection were made worse by a recent refurbishment which meant important new equipment wouldn’t fit into the premises. He said training and systems were now in place to help staff address cleaning, disinfecting and stock rotation issues.

Mr Marley was fined £3,600 and ordered to pay £1,013.19 costs and a £60 surcharge fee.

Magistrate Susan Lawrence told Marley the public risk could have been “substantial” and it was down to “God and providence” that it hadn't become a more serious situation.

Peter Kelly, the council's Director of Public Health, said: "In this case officers had provided advice on several occasions to ensure standards were being met at Marley’s. During the subsequent inspection of the premises in September it was clear this advice had been ignored and the unacceptable level of hygiene and poor state of cleanliness was immediately apparent."