A tiny field mouse caused calamity in a quintessential Wiltshire village pub when it paid an untimely visit during a food safety inspection.

The presence of the small brown rodent led to the immediate closure of the Carriers Arms at Stockton and a frantic phone call to a pest control company.

But even worse, the country pub’s food hygiene score plunged from two to just one following the mouse’s untimely visit.

Karen Foster, who runs the Carriers Arms with her husband David, said: “When the inspector came she saw the field mouse.

“It was harvest-time and it ran through the bar and went down a small hole.

“She immediately stopped us trading and we had to call in pest control and they came in the next day.

“We have been given the all-clear three times by the Environmental Health but the food hygiene rating stays for six months.

“It’s frustrating and there are no concerns, but we are stuck with it now until about the third week of December.”

The pub’s closure was a joint agreement between the EHO and the pub owners, Mrs Foster said. “They suggest and we agree.”

Mrs Foster said pest control officers have been back several times to check since the mouse was seen but have found nothing.

The field mouse is considered a danger to human health because they are carriers of diseases such as the hantavirus which leads to serious respiratory problems.

Following the environmental health visit on July 22, the inspector found that “major improvement is necessary” in the management of food safety and that “improvements are necessary” in hygienic food handling and in the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building.

This could mean that managers and employees are breaching multiple food hygiene standards and have a lack of food hygiene understanding and training among staff.

The agency said major improvements must be made to the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat and evidence that staff know about food safety.

It also said improvements must be made to the pub’s hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, as well as to the cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building.

These include having an appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.

A score of just one means the pub received a food safety score between 45-50 points, but the report added: “The food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.”

The Carriers Arms is a quintessential 'free of tie' leasehold pub located within the 'chocolate box' Wiltshire village of Stockton in the Wylye Valley.

Situated just off the A303 and A36, it is situated about a mile away from sister pub The Bell Inn at Wylye.

Despite the rating, recent TripAdvisor reviews of the Carriers Arms are mostly positive and give the pub a 4.5 out of five rating.

Mrs Foster added: “Our locals have been understanding, for which we have been very grateful. The support that we have received has been amazing.

“Everybody understands that it is wrong to have a mouse in the bar and that it is unavoidable.

“We have had no drop-off in trade and have been packed. Last Sunday, we were turning people away.”

NB: We have added more information to clarify the pub's recent food hygiene rating. In addition, we previously said the pub had a hygiene rating of five before this incident, when it was actually two. We apologise for the error.