The soft play centre, Jesters Adventure Play in Redman Road, Calne came under fire on social media yesterday after a customer reported seeing a rat inside the building.
Several customers took to social media to share their experiences of the soft play centre. Many were disappointed with their visit, citing long delays for food, the equipment in need of updating and most detrimental of all, the presence of a rat inside the play area.
One young mum of two posted: 'As a concerned parent, I feel this has to be said, when Jesters first opened I was glad to have a soft play centre in Calne, but fast forward a few years and it is scruffy, a lot of it is held together with tape, broken toys, ball pit is no longer a ball pit, the tubes don't work. One part of the equipement is broken with wires hanging out, food service is slow and today a rat was seen.'
However, others were quick to jump to their defence saying it was a solitary rat which was dealt with quickly by staff. The centre remains open today following a thorough clean of all the equipment.
The centre enjoys a 5 rating - very good - from the Food Standards Agency.
Environmental Health have been made aware of the situation and will be conducting their own enquiries.
A statement released today from Jesters Manager, Tracy Taylor states:
'I can confirm that yesterday (1st Jan) a customer reported seeing a rat in the play area. On investigation, a rat was seen and contained by the team Supervisor and removed from the centre. This was a single rodent and there is no evidence of any further problem.
The entire play area was cleaned thoroughly by the Manager’s Assistant (who came in to assist following the incident), the Supervisor and support team using an antibacterial solution, followed by a Milton solution. A visual check was made of the inside and outside of the building. Ongoing regular checks were also carried out. This morning, an additional visual check was made and no signs of vermin were present. We have processes in place to deter vermin and we will continue to monitor and review these. An incident report has been sent to Environmental Health at Wiltshire Council and we will adhere to any recommendations they make. Furthermore, we will be reviewing and updating our procedures for ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ and staff training.
I am alarmed at the social media attention and negative comments that I have seen in relation to our play centre. It is very upsetting for both myself and my staff to see the comments when we work so hard to maintain a clean and safe environment. We take the health and safety of our staff and customers very seriously and these comments are detrimental to our business.
I would like to thank our staff for dealing with the unusual situation yesterday and our loyal customers, who have shown their support by visiting Jester’s today and sending myself and our team supportive messages.'
