A landmark Swindon hotel has been ordered to pay more than £20,000 in fines and court costs after admitting a dozen breaches of hygiene regulations said to pose a significant risk to public health.

Great Western Hotel (Swindon) Ltd, which owns The GW in Station Road, was hit with a £13,200 fine, as well as being ordered to pay £7,500 costs at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Director Gavin McKelvie, 42, was ordered to pay £4,400 while the kitchen manager at the time, Mark Wylie, 30, was fined £2,200.

It follows an inspection by a Swindon Council environmental officer in March last year, which revealed numerous serious breaches.

Milk was found on top of raw chicken, while out of date sandwiches were found on the premises, ready for sale.

The inspector found a kitchen covered in food debris, a lack of hand soap and a failure to record temperature checks of food or equipment.

Before the inspecdtion the hotel had a three-star rating and there were no complaints by customers or reports of anyone becoming ill.

All of the defendants admitted the offences and Anna Mathias, defending all parties, said they accepted standards had been allowed to slip to an unacceptable level – but action had now been taken to rectify all the problems.