Pub fined £17k after cockroaches and BEDBUGS found

A PUB operator and its director have been fined £17,000 after cockroaches and bedbugs were found at the site. The Old Oak Tree Pub Ltd, which operates a pub of the same name in Southall, and its director Darshan Singh Grewal pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on July 28. The verdict comes after Ealing Council opened an investigation into the pub in 2023 after members of the public made complaints about its condition. Council officers inspected the pub and its guest accommodation and found bedbugs in the bedrooms, cockroaches in the kitchen and hazards that could cause people to slip or trip. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! The council provided advice, issued warning letters and served legal notices to say improvements needed to be made. But in follow-up visits they found the problems had not been properly addressed. Meanwhile, the company failed to comply with a Health and Safety Improvement Notice that was connected to the risk of slips and trips. Darshan Singh Grewal and the company admitted to two offences under the Public Health Act of failing to fix the problems connected to the cockroaches and bedbugs at the pub. The court said he had been given multiple chances to fix the issues but had not done so. The company was fined £4,800 while Darshan Singh Grewal was fined £4,000. Most read in Money The court ordered the defendant to pay a victim surcharge of £3,200 and prosecution costs of £5,000, increasing the total penalty to £17,000. Darshan Singh Grewal has also been given a criminal record. Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, Ealing Council cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “Businesses have a legal responsibility to provide safe and hygienic environments for their customers, visitors, and staff. “In this case, our officers found repeated failures over a long period of time, despite providing advice and several opportunities for the business to address the problems.” Comment now