The
owners of a curry house infested with cockroaches have been fined £13,200.
An
environmental health officer visited the Al Bilal restaurant at
87-91, Wilmslow Road Manchester and found about 20 of the pests
'crawling around the kitchen, bar and restaurant area'.
The inspector
found cockroaches were living in equipment, food containers, drinking
glasses and pipework in the kitchen.
He found dirt
and food debris on the kitchen walls and underneath cookers and fridges.
His report
said that food storage bins were dirty and plate and storage racks
were rusty and covered with a thick layer of dirt.
As a result
of his findings in August, the restaurant was closed immediately
while the owners treated the infestation and cleaned the premises and
equipment. It was allowed to reopen nine days later.
Kickstone
Ltd, trading as Al Bilal, pleaded guilty to six offences under the
Food Hygiene Regulations at Manchester magistrates court on April 9.
They were
fined £2,000 for each offence and ordered to pay£1,200
costs - a total of £13,200.
One of the
restaurant's owners, who did not wish to be named, said he was away
in Pakistan when the problems happened and those responsible had been sacked.
