The company behind Edmunds Fine Dining has been fined £5,300 after a mouse infestation was discovered by health inspectors at its Brindleyplace premises.

Parent firm Casamou Ltd admitted nine breaches of food safety regulations at Birmingham magistrates.

Nicola Lea, prosecuting for the city council, said the restaurant now has a five-star hygiene rating.

But it was served with an emergency prohibition notice in January 2015 which had forced it to close for one day.

Ms Lea said environmental health officers had visited the restaurant on January 20 last year after receiving a complaint.

Officers found mouse droppings throughout the premises, a lack of effective cleaning and no evidence of a food safety management plan.

They also discovered out of date milk and cream in the fridges.

She added: “Officers served the notice on January 20 and returned to carry out a follow-up inspection on January 21 and the premises was allowed to reopen.

“There was a subsequent inspection in March 2015 and they now have a five-star rating.”

She added that a food safety management plan was drawn up after the visits and said there had been a high level of co-operation, including the steps to resolve the problems.

In mitigation for Casamou Ltd, lawyer Mr Smith described the incident as “very unfortunate” and said Edmunds had received a clean bill of health from a pest control company on the very same day of the visit.

He also said the complaint had been made anonymously and that the venue had been closed in the two days before the visit.

He said in those two days no cooking had taken place and any out of date food would have been checked and disposed of.

He added: “The visit took place on a Tuesday. The restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday and a member of staff should have attended work to carry out cleaning duties.

“There was a system in place, but the system failed because the member of staff did not attend work. The company co-operated fully with the local authority and subsequently received a five-star rating, which is still in place.”