A HOTEL manager has admitted he does serve cooked breakfasts to guests using a kitchen that was ‘slammed’ by hygiene inspectors.

Cooking equipment “ingrained with grease and dirt” and an electric fly killer full of dead flies was found during an inspection at Severn View Hotel on April 1.

Indy Singh, who said he took over the tenancy of the Newport Street business around three years ago, originally assured us the kitchen was not in use and so had been left to get into a poor state.

He also said the hotel’s one out of five food hygiene rating would be improved once the correct food safety management system has been adopted.

Mr Singh said this essentially amounts to him getting a hygiene book put in place, which will allow staff to document cleaning regimes.

However, we later reported that he fully intended to begin using the kitchen again to offer customers breakfasts and had asked inspectors what he needed to do to get it up to scratch.

But, with two people who have stayed at the hotel over the last few weeks coming forward to confirm they were served cooked breakfasts, Mr Singh has now admitted as such.

The report also said surfaces and space under fridges needed cleaning, while a hand basin tap needed repairing, and obsolete equipment needed removing to avoid pest harbourage.

Liz Sharpe, who stayed at the hotel with her partner on March 9, said she found the report’s findings “shocking and concerning” with both having eaten scrambled egg on toast during their stay.

“I found the general appearance of the hotel to be scruffy and tired, which left me wondering about the standards of cleanliness,” she said. “I ate breakfast in the dining area, along with five other apparent guests. The breakfast itself was fine and tasted perfectly edible.”

Another guest, who did not wish to be named, said he stayed with relatives from April 19-22 and they ate a total of nine cooked breakfasts.

Speaking to us yesterday, Mr Singh said the report was exaggerated but reiterated he thoroughly cleaned the kitchen following the inspection, though several weeks after Miss Sharpe's visit.

“We still use it as there’s nothing wrong with it, [but the rating won’t go up] until we get that book.”

He added that inspectors “would have shut it down” if it was that bad and said the restaurant area itself is not in use and the kitchen is only used to cook breakfasts.