Meadowhall food boss speaks out over mice video and claims they are 'not just limited to my unit'

Ian Leigh, director of Thai Leisure Group, said his pest control contractors had said it was likely the animals seen in the Palm Sugar bar had “walked in from somewhere else.” Meadowhall is next to the River Don and has many service areas where rodents could get in, he added.

Mr Leigh said there had been “frank discussions” with mega-mall managers after a video of mice, or rats, went viral last month. Customer Rik Duckworth videoed “five or six” running around on the floor, tables and plates. The footage showed them scurrying around as the centre prepared to close at 10pm.

He added: “Our pest control company has reassured me it’s not limited to our unit. Logic says that in an open plan area they don’t just live in there. My heart sank when I saw the footage. We’ve been in Meadowhall since 2011 and to my knowledge this has never happened before. I’m hoping people can see we are a clean operation and we do our best.”

He believes the video shows mice and not rats, although he admitted “both are hugely distasteful.” But he insisted he was not “pointing the finger” and they were working closely with Meadowhall bosses on a “unified strategy” to tackle the problem.

He also said the rodents were in a non-food preparation area and the Palm Sugar bar had not been used since before Covid after failing to take off. The operation includes ChaoBaby, a Thai buffet which employs 18. It had seen a dip in trade after the video came out.

Meanwhile, Thai Leisure Group is working on an overhaul of the bar set to include measures to make it less attractive to “critters” and Meadowhall co-owner British Land was “very supportive of the plan,” Me Leigh said.

Meadowhall did not comment but last month a spokesperson said: “We’d like to reassure customers that having a clean, safe and hygienic environment is of the utmost importance to us and we work closely alongside our retail partners and Environmental Health to ensure this.”