An elderly churchgoer died and 31 members of her congregation fell sick after eating an undercooked shepherd’s pie at their village pub, a court has heard.

A group from the Holy Trinity Church in Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Northamptonshire, gathered at the Crewe Arms for a harvest festival supper in October 2018.

All 35 became violently ill after being served shepherd’s pie – except for three vegetarians who were given a meat-free version.

Reading Crown Court was told Elizabeth Neuman, 92, was ‘healthy and well’ but suffered ‘gastrointestinal haemorrhage induced from vomiting’ caused by bacteria in the pie and died before she could be treated at a hospital in Oxford.

The head chef of the Crewe Arms, John Croucher, 40, and landlord Neil Billingham, 54, were spared jail after admitting they broke food regulations by allowing the pie to be served.

Judge Campbell said: ‘The mince was not cooked properly and was placed into a pan with iced water. Croucher needed to leave, so put the mince in cling film and put it in the fridge overnight.

‘Having left it, he cooked it again and added warm mashed potato. He did not take the temperature when it was served.’

Prosecutors said food inspectors had previously found ‘no food safety management system in place’ at the pub and gave staff ‘coaching’ as a result.

Croucher denied that any coaching sessions took place but admitted to ‘rushing’ the meal, adding that he bitterly regretted the mistake.

He told the court: ‘When I was working for the Crewe Arms I was employed by Mr Billingham to improve standards in the kitchen and in general.

‘A horrible, horrible circumstance happened and it’s something you take with you. I now second guess and third guess everything.

‘I never had a coaching session when I was working for the Crewe Arms. I hate to say it, I really hate to say it, but I think I was rushed. I was rushing.

‘Remorse is an understatement. This is something I will never forget. Because of it, I am a better chef and it is just a shame the cost of it had to be what it was.’

After the incident, the landlord and his chef oversaw improvements that secured a five-star hygiene rating for the pub.

Ms Neuman’s daughter told the court: ‘The whole Hinton family do not want retribution. Billingham made changes after the incident to ensure it would never happen again.’

Croucher, who now works for Greene King in a different role, was sentenced to four months’ jail suspended for 12 months for one count of contravening food regulations.

Billingham was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs after admitting three counts of breaching food regulations.

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