Cheese was being weighed on the same scales as raw meat when hygiene inspectors made a surprise visit to a butcher's shop in Abbots Bromley.

They also found salmon that was two days out of date in the walk-in chiller when they visited Wilsons Butchers unannounced.

Now inspectors from East Staffordshire Borough Council have released their official "rate my place" hygiene report, giving Wilsons a score of one out of five - the second-worst rating possible.

The business' boss, Simon Wilson, says he was away when the inspection took place in March and unsuccessfully appealed against the council's judgement.

He said: "My customers up to now seem happy with the way I run my business and hope they'll continue to visit, rather than rely on a paper-based account from a single day's visit without any management there.

"I've certainly never had any complaints of anyone being ill after eating food they've bought here.

"I'd have thought they'd need someone in a management role to have been there, but apparently that's not the case.

"It would be good if East Staffordshire Borough Council would provide some training on the areas they feel need improvement."

Other criticisms in the report include a fabric towel being used instead of disposable paper towels; a member of staff wearing the wrong apron to weigh cheese; food debris on the "ready-to-eat vacuum packer" and a vacuum-packed pack of Stilton having "blown" in the display chiller, meaning the packaging had swollen, which can be a sign that bacteria has grown in the food.

Wilsons Family Butchers, in Abbots Bromley

Mr Wilson says he was "at a complete loss" when inspectors said his Stilton was "going mouldy". He said Stilton was mouldy "by nature".

He also questioned the assessors' identical point about red Leicester and said they were more likely to have seen naturally-occurring salt than mould.

The inspectors criticised the fact Mr Wilson's office and ready-to-eat food area were in the same room.

The report reads: "The food preparation surface was cluttered and dirty and there was an abundance of paperwork being stored next to it making the area difficult to clean.

"You must remove any non-food items from the food contact surfaces and thoroughly clean the area. The area must then be kept in a tidy and clean condition."

What the report said - and what Mr Wilson had to say in response

1. A pack of cheese was being weighed on the raw meat scales.

Mr Wilson said: "They like us to have two sets of scales, one for ready-to-eat and one for raw. We've got both sets." He said staff may have got the sets "mixed up" while he was away.

2. A cloth towel was being used for hand-drying within the shop.

Mr Wilson said: "They prefer paper towels to cloth towels. There are times when using a fabric towel is preferable, but I'm not sure why it was being used in this instance."

3. When the member of staff was weighing the cheese on the raw meat scales they were wearing a red apron - this indicated that they had been in to the ready-to-eat area of the shop whilst wearing this apron. The member of staff later went into the cook house to retrieve a blue apron which they then put on to serve items from the ready-to-eat counter.

Mr Wilson said: "I'm guessing the lady working here thought 'the inspectors are here, so I'd better wear a clean apron', so changed it."

4. There was a vacuumed pack of Stilton in the display chiller in the shop which had blown and the contents inside appeared to be going mouldy.

Mr Wilson said: "Stilton cheese is mouldy by the nature of it. I said that in my appeal, but they stood by what they'd said. The cheese would not have been too tightly packed as it would be squashed. I'm at a complete loss about that one."

5. There was some cling film-wrapped red Leicester cheese in the display chiller in the shop which was going mouldy.

Mr Wilson said: "I wasn't aware of it being mouldy. I'd hazard a guess that it was more likely to have been salt on it than mould. Salt's used in cheese-making and as it matures, you get specs of salt on the outside."

6. There was some salmon in the walk-in chiller with a use-by date of March 11, 2018 [the inspection took place on March 13].

Mr Wilson said: "My shop is also my home address and the salmon was used at a party I'd had before I went away. I chucked the leftovers in the chiller."

7. There was a bag of salmon cuttings on the floor of the walk-in chiller; the member of staff spoken to was unsure of why this product was stored there.

Mr Wilson said: "That was the salmon I referred to previously that was used at my party."

8. There was food debris on the ready-to-eat vacuum packer.

Mr Wilson said: "I'm not sure about this, as it was a pack of clingfilm sitting on top of the vacuum packer. I've no idea where food debris comes into it."

9. The area which is used for ready-to-eat foods within the cook house appeared to be being used as an office area. The food preparation surface was cluttered and dirty and there was an abundance of paperwork being stored next to it making the area difficult to clean.

Mr Wilson said: "There's always been an element of that happening. I've got a two-square-foot section I use for my paperwork. I'm a 50-year-old man who doesn't keep a tidy desk."

10. There appeared to be no date labelling system in place for both cooked and ready-to-eat foods. This is likely to have resulted in items 4 and 5 above. The issues noted were as follows:

- A number system was apparently being used to make sure that cooked hams are used within five days, however it was noted that the wrong metal number had been placed on the ham tray.

- The member of staff in the shop was unable to tell me when the corned beef had been opened and there were no records to detail the opening date either.

- Steaks had been vacuum packed with a date of the 10/3, some of the other vacuum packed products had use-by dates on them. It was unknown when the steaks had been packed or when they should be used by.

- Packs of cheese and some of the packs of faggots had not got any dates on making it difficult to determine when they should be sold by.

- There was no system for dating the pies in the display chiller to make sure they are used in date order.

Mr Wilson said: "I'm waiting on further information from the Food Standards Agency as I understand labelling guidelines are in the process of being changed."