A BROKEN piece of equipment came at the worst possible time for a popular eatery used to rave hygiene ratings.

The Bear on the Square in Millom was given just One by the Food Standards Agency following its most recent inspection on April 5 this year. While the hygienic handling of food, including preparation, cooking, cooling and storage was found to be satisfactory, major improvements were said to be needed in the condition of the building’s facilities and in safety checks.

Contacted by the Evening Mail, manager David Gandy was able to explain how the rating had come about.

He said: “This is to do with the breaking down of equipment. The ventilation system broke and, unfortunately, two days later the inspectors turned up.

“They said, ‘You can’t operate in these conditions with the five star rating that you usually have’. That equipment has now been fixed and we’re awaiting re-inspection to get back our usual five stars.”

Mr Gandy’s reassurances are backed by the success of Millom’s Clocktower Restaurant, which is run by he and his wife Jacqueline and was given a Very Good rating of Five during an inspection in May.

Other successful sites to get the top grade during 2016 inspections included the All Greek to Me canteen in the Millom Network Centre, Food To Go at Port Haverigg Holiday Village, and The Beach Shop and Cafe at Haverigg. McMeekins Greengrocer in Millom, Millom Food Bank and Mr T’s Ices also received the top mark, as did Muncaster Castle, the Pennington Hotel in Ravenglass and The Byre Cafe in Bootle.

The Turntable Cafe at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway was another top scorer.

While relatively few of the eateries surveyed in the west of the county were found to get the lowest marks of zero and one, the visitor centre at HMP Haverigg was found to require some improvement after scoring a Two.