A Darlington business has been slammed with a one-star for food hygiene by health inspectors.

The Rose and Lime, found on Bondgate in Darlington, was inspected on October 31 where it received the shocking result.

Inspectors found that handling of food was not hygienic, including cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage all required improvement.

The cleanliness and condition of facilities in the restaurant was also a point of concern for inspectors.

Appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control were all needed improvement.

Inspectors found that systems and checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat were found to need “major improvement.”

Read more: Seaham Hall named in The Times and Sunday Times best places to stay

However, the food safety officer does have “confidence that standards will be maintained in future.”

The Rose and Lime has replied stressing that the venue has been thoroughly cleaned and procedures are in place to ensure that cleanliness is maintained.

Meanwhile, the venue is also set to be renovated and staff have been trained and retrained on food hygiene issues.

The business has now also removed unused equipment and replaced damaged ones as instructed.

A spokesperson for the business argued that the conditions at the time of inspection “were not typical of the normal conditions maintained at the establishment.”

They added: “We were inspected during very challenging time for us and are disappointed with our new rating.

“We’d like to explain that whilst we addressed and put right issues raised on our main restaurant area immediately, there’s some compliance issues on the first floor of the business which are still being dealt with and we trust that once these have been met we will earn our 5* rating soon.

“We are working hard to maintain a safe, hygienic establishment. We’d like to assure our customers that the quality of food, service and standards are as high as ever.”

Read next: 

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here