Isle of Wight takes on more inspectors

Hotels and restaurants on the Isle of Wight are to be blitzed by hygiene inspectors.

The Isle of Wight Council, found to have the country's lowest hygiene inspection rate in an Audit Commission study, is spending £50,000 on increasing staffing levels in its environmental health department.

At least two food inspection officers should begin their duties in the next few weeks.

Gordon Kendall, the authority's environmental health spokesman, said the inspectors were needed to ensure public confidence in food hygiene standards and to allow the county to comply with necessary legislation.

He said the council had no choice but to fund the posts.

"The island has a comparatively high number of food premises and a tourist industry that could be decimated by a food scare such as the E coli crisis in Lanarkshire," he said.

Chief environmental protection officer Barrie Monks said the appointments meant many more food premises would be inspected each year. by Gavin Foster