- A plague of cockroaches has caused the closure of a motorway service area on the M40
- Four units in Junction Eight’s Welcome Break were forced to cease trading
- Hygienists launched an investigation following a complaint last month
An outbreak of cockroaches has caused health workers to close a motorway service area on the M40.
Four units at the main Welcome Break service near Oxford were forced to close immediately, including a KFC and Starbucks.
At the site, which is used by thousands of motorists and their passengers every day, criminal prosecution is underway for committed offenses in the field of food hygiene.
South Oxfordshire District Council today described what it described as a “significant” cockroach infestation which has forced The Good Breakfast and Chopstix to close.
Environmental health officials carried out an emergency investigation after a member of the public complained.
Evidence of a cockroach infestation was found in the food preparation and serving areas of the stores, which posed a “significant risk of food contamination and an imminent risk to the health of customers”.
Four businesses at the site, off Junction Eight near Wheatley, will remain closed until officers say the health risk has been removed.
During a hearing at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 31 May, District Judge Rana reviewed the evidence and statements given by officers and on 20 May confirmed the imminent health risk and was satisfied that the health risk remained in place.
The judge issued an emergency hygiene ban and also awarded full costs of just over £3,000 to South Oxfordshire District Council.
Officers work with businesses and monitor these and other units on site.
Paul Fielding, Head of Housing and Environment at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “When we received the first complaint, our environmental officers immediately intervened and carried out an investigation at Welcome Break Services and issued a sanitary emergency ban notice requiring a temporary closure of the businesses concerned.
“The infestation posed a significant risk of contamination and a serious risk to public health and I am pleased that the District Judge has now approved the action taken by our officers.
“Our officers will continue to carry out regular on-site inspections to protect public health.
“They are also working with Welcome Break to resolve this issue and support their efforts to reopen affected units as soon as possible.”
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Pest experts say record numbers of cockroaches are beginning to invade homes, crawling across bedroom floors and under sofas in living rooms.
“Cockroaches” do not bite humans and cause no physical harm, but they are a health threat because they spread disease.
Britain’s mild winter and spring with high levels of rain were ideal weather for the insects.
Pest experts at Swat are warning that a record-breaking invasion is on the way – and an infestation could cost you up to £260.
Although there are more than 4,000 species of cockroach on the planet, two are the most important in the UK – the Oriental cockroach and the German cockroach – according to Bedford-based insect control company EWS Group.
You can also come across the American cockroach and the brown striped cockroach.
In 2022, students at the nearby University of Oxford, Exeter College, threatened a “rent strike” over an invasion of nasty bugs in their bedrooms.
Students in the Cohen Quadrangle area of ​​Oxford’s fourth-oldest college were “disgusted and disappointed” by cockroach infestations in two communal kitchens and bedrooms.
The staff told the new arrivals that the first and second floors would be freshly closed for several days during the week for maintenance.
They added that due to an “unforeseen maintenance issue”, both kitchens will not be open until October 17 at the earliest – with up to 90 students sharing the cooking space on the third floor.
Exeter College offered a 60 percent discount at both the Dakota Cafe in Cohen Quadrangle and the center’s main dining hall.
When students kept seeing bugs, university bosses admitted it was a cockroach infestation in the kitchen vents on the first and second floors.
In a statement, they urged them to ensure that “containers are emptied frequently and no food is left uncovered overnight.”