THE boss of a popular cocktail bar has denied breaching hygiene regulations by allowing piles of bin bags to pile up in a back alley.

Macy Brown’s, at Market Place, Guisborough, is being prosecuted by Redcar and Cleveland Council for failing to comply with a hygiene improvement notice.

According to the council, the cocktail bar was issued with the notice in July last year for failing to store “food waste, non-edible by-products and other refuse” in a properly designed and managed storage area.

On Wednesday, Paolo Arceri, director at Macy Brown’s, appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court to deny the charges.

Janine Morgan, prosecuting for Redcar and Cleveland council, said environmental health officers had responded to complaints from members of the public and a local councillor about rubbish building up at the rear of the bar.

Mr Arceri entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of the business.

A trial date was set for Monday, July 1 at Teesside Magistrates’ Court.