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A cockroach-infested curry house in Walton was closed down in
September by environmental health officers.
The Oriental Curry Centre in Church Street was visited by Elmbridge
Borough Council officers on September 10 after a call from an angry
diner who saw a cockroach crawl across her table as her main course
was served.
At Staines Magistrates' Court, food safety and environmental health
officers applied successfully for retrospective permission to suspend
business at the restaurant. The borough council's legal advocate,
Claire Browne, told the court: "Cockroaches were found under the
tandoor oven and in the cracks of the linoleum floor of the food
preparation area.
"The splits on the linoleum floor provide adequate harbouring
for cockroaches to hide and breed."
Following the visit of environmental health officers Stephen Hennah
and Emma Hartill, a pest control company was called to kit out the
curry house with cockroach traps. However, when Mr Hennah and Mrs
Hartill went back to the restaurant the next day, some of the traps
had been moved and some stowed away in plastic bags. Upon second
inspection of the premises, council officers also found uncovered and
unrefrigerated food, including prawns, left lying around. Food debris
was also discovered at the back of the tandoor oven and in the
grooves at the back of the surfaces in the food preparation area.
The court also heard that holes in the kitchen's ventilation ducting
were discovered. The ventilation system was also missing filters
necessary in preventing a build up of grease. As a result grease was
seen dripping from the ceiling onto the walls and floor, providing
further food sources for the cockroaches and causing a risk to people
slipping over and injuring themselves.
Restaurant owner Asif Iqbal, who did not show up in court despite
being summonsed, ignored the advice of environmental officers by
refurbishing the premises and consequently not allowing enough time
for the pest control chemical gels to develop.
An order was imposed by the court to close the restaurant until
environmental officers deem there is no longer a threat to human
health and safety.
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