Woman's warning to Brighton's Beach Box Sauna ahead of rat bite

Beach Box Sauna, in Madeira Terrace, Brighton, last week apologised to a man whose foot was bitten by a rat while he was leaving the freezing plunge pool in the spa’s outside area.

He was taken to hospital by a friend where he was given injections and antibiotics, though his wounds were weeping for two days afterwards.

Following a story in The Argus on the man’s ordeal, we were contacted by a woman who visited Beach Box Sauna on January 27 of this year.

The man's bite marks (Image: The Argus)

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she also had a run-in with a rodent and that she warned the sauna about the issue months before the bite incident.

“We were in the sauna on the furthest left with a picnic and it was just running around the fire pit area. It made me really nervous,” she said.

She said of the man's experience: “To be bitten in a place where you are paying is unbelievable. It may be a beach, but they are still in charge of it.

“I’m a liberal person, and maybe some people don’t have an issue with being bitten by rats, but for me this is not acceptable.

“There was a person a few years ago who was scratched by a rat at their home, and they died a few days later.”

The woman wrote to Beach Box to explain that she saw a rat "boldly running around".

Owner Liz Watson (Image: Salt Images)

An email from a staff member at the sauna read: “Oh my goodness. I am so sorry to hear this, eek.

“We do occasionally see rats of course, on the seafront, which is unavoidable. But as you say, not usually blatantly strutting around the site. No wonder it freaked you out. 

“We do spray specific rodent mint spray all around the site as a natural deterrent and we are in the process of hiring a skip and having another clear out which eliminates any hiding places.

“We are also looking into more humane ways of deterring them from our area and will of course discuss with the council too.”

The spa apologised and offered compensation in the form of a £25 voucher.

Beach Box Sauna (Image: The Argus)

Beach Box Sauna owner Liz Watson said: “We take the health and safety of our customers extremely seriously.

“We have always used professional lacquer as rodent deterrent and we also adopt mitigating measures as advised and as per our risk assessment.”

Liz said the site was deep cleaned following the woman’s complaint, that she took advice from other beachfront businesses, and staff removed any “unneeded items and materials to limit any infestation”.

She said pest control options were discussed with professionals but that any measures taken to reduce rodents should not “endanger the safety of other beach users, such as dogs and children”.

Bait trap boxes were installed on March 6.

“Since the new measures have been in place we've had no further sightings and no rats have been trapped,” she said.

A report from Rokill Pest Control on March 20 states no rats have been trapped or found by inspectors in the two weeks since the boxes were installed.

Beach Box Sauna (Image: The Argus)

Liz said she has spoken with Brighton and Hove City Council which has offered its support.

The Argus also spoke with the city council.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of reports relating to rats at the Beach Box Sauna and our environmental health team is investigating them. 

“Our team has contacted the business to outline the nature of the complaint and asked to see a copy of their risk assessment, particularly with regard to animals and wildlife, as well as details of what measures they intend to put in place to minimise the risk of similar issues reoccurring. 

“We will review this to see if they have identified appropriate hazards and what ‘reasonable and practicable’ control measures are in place.”

The Argus previously reported that the man who was bitten by a rat was offered a plaster.

Liz disputes this and says her staff wiped the wound with alcohol wipes and applied a dressing.