A hygiene emergency prohibition notice was issued to the pub today for an ‘active and widespread mouse infestation’ and a ‘lack of cleanliness’, reports Marco Marcelline
The Bell pub in Walthamstow has been indefinitely shut by due to a ‘widespread’ mouse infestation.
According to a Waltham Forest hygiene emergency prohibition notice issued today (11th March), the Forest Road pub was shut because of an “active and widespread mouse infestation” and a “lack of cleanliness”.
Meanwhile, a poster which was placed on the pub’s doors this afternoon told customers it was shut “due to circumstances beyond our control”, adding that they hoped to be “up and running again very soon”.
The Bell’s general manager Dave Morrish declined to comment when contacted by the Echo today.
The closure comes less than a fortnight after the pub experienced a fire that destroyed its front doors.
Morrish, who lives on top of the Bell, previously told the Echo that he was woken up at around 4am on Saturday 1st March by the fire.
He safely evacuated along with five other team members and their pets.
He added that the destroyed doors, which had cost the pub “thousands”, had been fitted just two months prior.
Despite the fire damage, The Bell re-opened just after 12pm on Saturday (1st March). The Bell is currently operating at a reduced capacity due to it now having fewer fire exits in operation.
Morrish has managed the Bell since autumn 2022, when long-standing manager Andy Potter was forced out by landlord Stonegate Group after his lease came up for renewal.
In July, Waltham Forest was found to have the worst average food hygiene rating than any other local authority in the UK.
London’s average food hygiene rating was 4.36, significantly higher than Waltham Forest’s rating of 3.74.
Joining Waltham Forest in the bottom three for average food hygiene ratings in the capital were Barking and Dagenham (3.95) , and Ealing (3.92).
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