A TOWN centre pub has been wrongly advertising its food hygiene rating as five-star for more than two months.

New summer menus at The Spinning Mule, in Nelson Square, claim it boasts the maximum five-star rating despite the pub being downgraded to three in February.

The Spinning Mule’s website also states it has a five star rating — and JD Wetherspoon, which owns the pub, has now issued a "wholehearted apology" to Bolton customers.

After an inspection on February 7, Bolton Council's environmental health experts awarded the pub a three — 'generally satisfactory' — but found issues with hand washing, protective clothing, cleaning, maintenance and cooking and reheating food.

One customer, who did not wish to be named, noticed the incorrect rating after checking the council's food hygiene information online.

He said: “I asked staff at the pub about why the newly-printed summer menus showed the wrong rating, and they told me they had noticed it themselves.

“As a customer you expect a big reputable company like Wetherspoons to be right about something as important as their food hygiene rating."

The pub’s food hygiene inspection intervention report from February 7, seen by The Bolton News, reveals inspectors found one member of staff was wearing dirty over-clothing in the kitchen, and she cracked eggs before touching other equipment and surfaces without washing her hands.

Probe thermometers, the kitchen floor and door were dirty, as was a tiled wall around the hand basin, which itself was blocked.


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A mop and bucket containing dirty water had been left out near the basin and there were issues with the walk-in freezers and fridges.

The Bolton News understands that since the pub was downgraded, about £20,000 has been spent on new kitchen equipment.

A spokesman for Bolton Council confirmed environmental health experts visited the pub to check the menus after being tipped off by The Bolton News.

The officers were told managers “had not realised” the former rating was on the new menus — which are done by head office.

The spokesman said: “We can confirm that The Spinning Mule was awarded an inspection rating of three – ‘generally satisfactory’ – in February this year, although previously it had been a five – ‘very good’.

“Premises should not display incorrect information regarding their rating.”

The Bolton News: JD Wetherspoon's Spinning Mule pub in Nelson Square, Bolton

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "We can confirm that The Spinning Mule's menu showed that the pub had a five star rating, when in fact its rating was three.

"The pub had previously had a five star rating and the printed menu was based on that information.

"The fact that a five star rating had been put on the menu was an error and one which should not have happened.

"We appreciate that stating the pub had a five star rating when it currently holds a three star rating is wrong, though it was never our intention to mislead our customers.

"When the situation was brought to the attention of the company door stickers with the five star rating were removed and sticky labels were used to cover the section of the menu which highlighted the five star rating.

"A new menu was printed for the pub and that is now available in The Spinning Mule. We wholeheartedly apologise for the whole situation."