THREE Wirral pubs owned by Wetherspoons have gained the top rating for levels of hygiene in as part of council’s Scores on the Doors programme.

The Brass Balance, in Birkenhead, The Clairville in Liscard and Hoylake Lights in Hoylake were all awarded a five-star rating by the council’s inspectors.

Scores on the Doors aims to highlight hygiene standards in pubs, restaurants, take-aways and clubs across the borough.

Wirral Globe: The Brass Balance in Birkenhead The Brass Balance in Birkenhead (Image: Google Maps / Streetview)Inspectors judge outlets on how hygienic and well-managed the food preparation at the premises is and each business is benchmarked against the same criteria namely: hygiene, structural and confidence in management.

Wirral Globe: The Clairville in Liscard The Clairville in Liscard  (Image: Google Maps / Streetview)Wirral Globe: Hoylake Lights in HoylakeHoylake Lights in Hoylake (Image: Google Maps / Streetview)The pubs' managers were "delighted" to have been awarded top marks.

Richard Forster, manager of The Brass Balance in Birkenhead, said: “We are delighted that we have gained the top rating and I’m sure our customers will welcome the news too."

The Clairville’s manager, John Gilfoyle, said: “Standards of hygiene at the pub are of paramount importance."

The Hoylake Lights manager, Ashlie Jae Gaskell, added: “All of the staff work hard to ensure that the pub offers its customers the highest levels of hygiene at all time and we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised with the five-star rating.”