McDonald's fined for mouse infestation

A McDonald's in Birmingham has been fined thousands of pounds for continuing to serve "unsafe food" despite a mouse infestation.

The restaurant, on College Road, Kingstanding, was investigated after a customer spotted a small mouse scurrying from the counter in February 2025 with staff said to be "unfazed".

Environmental health officers from the city council discovered evidence of rodent activity in a number of areas, including a dead baby mouse and droppings in the food preparation area and by the drinks service station.

Remmer Restaurants Ltd, which runs the branch, was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £85.

Birmingham magistrates heard there had been incidents of mouse activity at the restaurant on occasions in the two weeks prior to the inspection, including one caught in a trap days before.

But the court also heard two subsequent unannounced visits by inspectors had since resulted in the McDonald's being awarded a five-star food hygiene rating – the highest possible.

At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the court heard the franchisee had made major changes at Kingstanding and had employed a new manager to oversee it and another restaurant.

The company pleaded guilty in April to one charge of breaching the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.

Henry Skudra, prosecuting, said: "A customer said they were ordering food and a small mouse was spotted running from the counter.

"Employees were said to be unfazed and treated the incident as a regular occurrence."

He added "unsafe food" was being sold and there was "an imminent risk of injury to health", leading to the restaurant's closure under an emergency prohibition notice.

The restaurant was allowed to reopen the next day after required works were carried out.

Jonathan Barker, defending, said Nikki Remmer, director of Remmer Restaurants, had worked for McDonald's for decades in a number of roles.

"Her remorse is real. It hurts her more because she is a person who takes food hygiene seriously," Barker said.

"The last thing she wants to do is give customers food in the circumstances found during the visit on 13 February last year."

He said the franchise relied on people "doing their jobs properly" and accepted that the conditions seen were "completely unacceptable".

The restaurant was on the site of a former pub and the source of the mouse infestation came from an area staff had no access to, he added.

Barker said Remmer had also invested in a higher level of pest control measures, including the installation of sensors to detect any rodents.

There had also been no reports of customers being harmed or becoming ill.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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