Rat infestation closes city centre branch of troubled bakery firm Cooplands

The East Laith Gate branch opposite Christ Church has been closed by environmental health officers from City of Doncaster Council following the discovery of rodents on the premises.

A notice in the window of the premises says there is an “imminent risk of injury to health arising from the state or condition of the premises, namely significant rat activity in the rear storage area, kitchen area and the front preparation and service area of Cooplands, 100 East Laith Gate, Doncaster used for the purposes of storage, preparation and service of food.

“It is order that the use of the rear storage area, kitchen area and the front preparation and service area for the business is prohibited.”

The order was made at Doncaster Magistrates Court.

It is the latest in a long line of troubles for the long-established Doncaster bakery firm, which has its HQ at Victoria Mill Business Park in Wheatley.

Earlier this year, a number of its shops were suddenly closed down, with some staff claiming to have not been paid.

Employees were left stunned after turning up for work to find shops shuttered with no explanation from bosses.

Branches in Cantley, Armthorpe, East Laith Gate and Skellow were among those impacted while a branch in Worksop had a sign posted on the shop window refusing entry to the owners and staff due to, what appeared to be, non-payment of rent.

The firm also went into administration in 2015, with scores of jobs lost and stores closed, along with its bakery in Wharf Road.

And in 2016, the firm went bust for a second time with administrators once again being called in to one of Doncaster’s biggest and best known firms.

The family company first began life in 1932, rapidly expanding and opening a number of bakeries and shops across Doncaster as well as across Yorkshire.

The firm is separate to a Scarborough-based company of the same name which has been trading since 1885.

Cooplands have refused to comment on any of the issues.