“FRUSTRATING” was how Mark Adamson, landlord of The White Hart pub at Holybourne, described having his food safety standard dropped to a rating of one after health and safety environmental health officers carried out an inspection last month.

Before the inspection the pub’s rating was three, five is top, and Mark said: “It is frustrating losing our rating as it had nothing to do with our food or the preparation or how we store it.

“We had a new boiler and this meant we had to get rid of the old pipes and install new ones, which we boxed in.

“The inspectors found we had not filled in the holes left by the old pipes and hadn’t painted the boxes round the new pipes. Also we hadn’t painted two patches of the ceiling so the plaster was showing, and there were three cracked tiles.”

All the work had now been down, he said, adding that he was applying for a new food safety standard certificate.

“But that could take three months and then another three months to assess our application so we could have a six-month wait to get our rating back,” he said.

“When the inspector left here he said if all the things that we had now put right had been done he would have given us a top rating.”

“We took over the pub four years ago when it was bankrupt and we have worked hard to build up our reputation for good food. We have a top chef and we have done so well and are so busy we are thinking of building a bigger kitchen.

“We have a big Facebook following and we are going to put out what has happened and how it has now been resolved.”

And he added: “Also can I say anyone is welcome to come and inspect our kitchens at anytime and they will find we have set a high standard for food storage, hygiene and preparation.”