A BUSINESSMAN has pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates Court to 14 food hygiene offences across three Barry premises last year.

Steven McCartney, 62, of Sully, was admitted responsibility for the offences at the Barry Dock Café, and Treasure Island Foods and Island Treats, both at Barry Island Pleasure Park.

He was fined £8,175 at Cardiff Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 24.

The fine included £3,350 for the breach of a hygiene improvement notice and £1,000 for each of three offences concerning the cleanliness of working utensils, failure to ensure an adequate number of wash basins and failure to ensure appropriate facilities were in place to maintain adequate personal hygiene.

He was ordered to pay investigation costs of £1500 and a £335 victim surcharge.

McCartney also failed to comply with a hygiene improvement notice which had been served in respect of Island Treats in October 2017.

Inspectors visited the Barry Dock Café and identified that the premises had failed to provide hand basins with hot and cold running water.

There were inadequate facilities for the cleaning, disinfection and storage of working utensils and equipment with an adequate supply of hot and cold water.

The premises failed to ensure that adequate procedures were in place to control pests and ensure that the food premises were kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition and had failed to put in place, implement and maintain a permanent hygiene procedure or procedures.

A hygiene emergency prohibition notice was served to close the premises immediately and the café re-opened once works had been carried out.

Visits to Treasure Island Foods identified a failure to ensure the food premises were kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition.

It was also found to have failed numerous hygiene checks.

Treasure Island Food and Island Treats food inspections resulted in a food hygiene rating of zero and two respectively.

The court heard from prosecutors that the Barry Docks Café has since been sold to another business and the other two Barry Island premises were currently up for sale.

Vale council deputy leader and cabinet member for regulatory and legal services, Cllr Hunter Jarvie said: “The ownership of public businesses comes with responsibilities, and it is unacceptable to keep three premises in poor conditions.

“I hope this conviction stresses the importance of upholding a high food rating, and spreads a message to businesses across the Vale, that the council will not tolerate facilities that are kept in such poor conditions, especially when it comes to the safety of the public.”