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One-star hygiene rating for The Century Club, in Lower Stone Street, after mouse droppings and mould found

05:00, 10 June 2022

updated: 15:41, 10 June 2022

A troubled Maidstone nightspot has been rapped by health inspectors after mouse droppings were found in the bar.

The Century Club, in Lower Stone Street, was slapped with a food hygiene rating of one and told it needed to make “major improvements” after the visit, in which rancid rice, out-of-date milk and mould in the ice machine were also discovered.

Emergency services responding to an incident at the Century Club sports bar and nightclub in Lower Stone Street in Maidstone. Picture: Snapchat
Emergency services responding to an incident at the Century Club sports bar and nightclub in Lower Stone Street in Maidstone. Picture: Snapchat

Only last year the bar’s licence was reviewed following a number of violent incidents, including a stabbing outside, an occasion where officers had to Taser revellers, and repeated Covid breaches.

The food hygiene report, which has only just been obtained, revealed the inspectors told club bosses to contact pest control after finding mouse droppings on the bar shelf near a sink.

It detailed how “several containers” of milk in the fridge were past their use by date.

Meat from the previous day was found in the “dirty” kitchen, while a pot of rice in the fridge was “covered in mould” – both were described as “no longer fit for human consumption”.

Mould was found inside the ice machine.

CCTV images of a fight at Century Club on July 3 shortly before police were called back to a stabbing Picture: Maidstone council licensing committee
CCTV images of a fight at Century Club on July 3 shortly before police were called back to a stabbing Picture: Maidstone council licensing committee
Century Club Picture: Andy Jones
Century Club Picture: Andy Jones
Inside Century Club is open for business Picture: Andy Jones
Inside Century Club is open for business Picture: Andy Jones

Describing the state of the of the club, the report said: “The shelves on the bar were dirty and need to be thoroughly cleaned.

“The kitchen was generally dirty with food debris on the floor beneath equipment.”

The club provides a food service for the pool and darts team on weekly basis.

It was criticised for having a hole in the male toilets as well as one of the double plug sockets having a broken cover, leaving lives wires inside visible and exposed.

Two inspections took place in March.

Last year the troubled sports bar was slapped with operating conditions after its licence review, meaning it has to close at 1am instead of 4am and cannot hold external events.

Owner Saad Ktifi says they have now "ticked all the boxes" and should be receiving five stars in a reinspection.

He said: "We don’t sell food to customers, the place is relatively clean and is not like what’s been done previously.

"We cook stuff at home and bring it in for the league nights.

"Occasionally you get mice droppings, but it does get cleaned once a week as part of our schedule.

"We have got pest control in and they are on top of it."

He added: "The hygiene officer left us a list of things to do and it has all been done.

"I don’t see why we can’t have five stars - there’s no reason for us not to."

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