Pub landlord Adrian Illingworth, whose kitchen and washing-up area was covered in mould, dirt and dead insects, has been fined £2,800 for breaching food hygiene rules.

Pub landlord Adrian Illingworth, whose kitchen and washing-up area was covered in mould, dirt and dead insects, has been fined £2,800 for breaching food hygiene rules.

The owner of the Dog Inn, in Ludham, failed to make sure his cobweb-covered kitchen sink was cleaned properly, did not fix a faulty electric fly killer and neglected to scrub and disinfect refrigerators.

Yesterday Illingworth, who lives in the Johnson Street pub, pleaded guilty to eight counts of breaching food hygiene regulations after an environ-mental health inspection last May.

As well as the mould and dirt, Ian Hogg, an inspector for North Norfolk District Council, found dead flies piling up in a defunct fly catcher and blood stains and stagnant water in and around fridges.

Cromer magistrates' court heard that since Illingworth bought the pub in June 2002 it had regularly passed food safety inspections.

However Illingworth started to lose control of the kitchen's cleanliness after his partner left him while the pub's takings started to decrease dramatically, causing the 32-year-old to neglect the food part of his business while he concentrated on serving behind the bar.

Parminder Ubhi, prosecuting for the district council, said: "There was no formal safety system in place at the premises to ensure the safety of food."

In an interview with environmental health officers Illingworth admitted standards had slipped in the kitchen.

Since the inspection, Illingworth had invested a substantial amount of money in rectifying all the faults found by the environmental heath visit.

Magistrates heard that to keep the struggling business alive Illingworth had borrowed £40,000 from his mother, on top of owing £49,000 in debts to banks and a utility company.

The Dog Inn is now up for sale and the court was told a purchaser had now been found to buy the building.

Alistair Taunton, in mitigation, said: "The sale should finally take this mill stone from around his neck."

Illingworth was fined £350 for each of the eight food safety breaches and he was ordered to pay £500 costs.