Rat-infested Warwick restaurant prompts food business ban on owner - The Leamington Observer

Rat-infested Warwick restaurant prompts food business ban on owner

Leamington Editorial 12th Dec, 2017 Updated: 12th Dec, 2017   0

THE OWNER of a Warwick restaurant where rat and mouse infestations put the health of customers at risk has been banned from taking part in running any food business.

The ban was imposed when Kayes Miah appeared at Warwick Crown Court after pleading guilty to a number of breaches of food hygiene and safety regulations.

He also admitted failing to comply with an improvement notice served on him over the appalling conditions at the Mr India restaurant and take-away in West Street.

Miah, of Derrydown Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was sentenced to ten months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and to pay £500 costs.




Marcus Harry, prosecuting, said Miah had registered as a food business operator in May 2010 and opened Mr India.

In March this year Warwick District Council food safety inspectors carried out a routine inspection of the premises which uncovered a number of offences – the most serious of which were infestations of both rats and mice.


Rodent dropping were found in a variety of locations, including near a chiller and in the cellar which was used to store non-food items including take-away containers.

Nesting material was also found in the cellar, where there were also areas of flooding.

In the kitchen the inspectors noted general dirtiness, including greasy walls and ceilings, a greasy drainage rack, and holes large enough for rodents to get in and out of the kitchen.

There was also inappropriate means for staff members to clean their hands, with no soap or paper towels.

There was mould on the walls near the sink in the kitchen and a leak under the sink, and items such as a chopping board, a tea towel and a food container were dirty, as were various surfaces and a microwave oven.

There were further issues identified in the bar area, and the restaurant had no food safety management system in place.

Miah was on holiday at the time, but his nephew was there and agreed to a voluntary closure of the restaurant until a pest control operator was brought in and a thorough clean carried out.

Mr India re-opened three days later after a further visit was made which established that those measure were under way.

But the improvements did not last, and when another inspection was carried out in May, eight further offences were discovered, including evidence of fresh rodent droppings.

Again there was a voluntary closure while improvements were supposedly made, and a hygiene improvement notice was served on Miah a few days later.

But a further inspection in July showed that had not been complied with – and there were still a number of breaches of food hygiene regulations including dirty and greasy surfaces and mould, while in the cellar there were dead insects in the area where food containers were kept.

Mr Harry pointed out Miah had already been cautioned for hygiene regulation breaches in 2010 and 2014, a year when he was also convicted of breaching regulations in respect of a travel agency he was running at the time.

Amrisha Parathalingam, defending, said: “Of course the premises were filthy, which Mr Miah has to accept. His mother died, which had an effect on him, but he knows that does not excuse putting the public’s health at risk by running a dirty restaurant.”

Imposing an indefinite prohibition on Miah taking part in the management of any food business, Recorder Anthony Potter said: “With regard to basic hygiene regulations, you utterly failed.

“Customers were coming to your restaurant for the convenience of food being prepared for them and for a pleasant experience.

“What they did not want was the risk of contracting an unpleasant disease as a result.”

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