A council officer was sacked for putting public health 'at risk' after he gave a Wirral restaurant a hygiene rating score of four without even visiting the premises.
Mark Davies, an environmental health officer (EHO) with Wirral Borough Council, was caught out when owners of the Refreshment Rooms, in Rock Ferry, contacted the council to query the four-star rating they received following a visit Davies claimed to have made in August, 2018. It transpired that the chef whose signature appeared on the form had been off the day of the alleged visit.
Whilst Davies denied forging the chef’s signature, he later admitted that he had copied it from a previous inspection report. During a disciplinary hearing, Davies was initially adamant that he had attended, but later said that “everything was a blur” as he was suffering from mental and physical exhaustion.
