An Indian restaurant in Hinchley Wood was closed recently, after council officers carrying out a scheduled hygiene inspection last month found a food preparation area was infested with rats.
On Friday, October 30, Staines Magistrates’ Court heard officers had visited India Dining, in Station Approach, four days previously, where they had found the infestation, together with poor structural conditions, preparation and storage areas.
The restaurant has now reopened, after a subsequent inspection found conditions had greatly improved.
An emergency prohibition notice was served on the premises under food hygiene regulations, as the officers believed what they had discovered posed an imminent risk to public health.
The court also heard a warning letter about hygiene had already been sent to the restaurant in August this year.
Tony Deag, the council’s head of environmental health and licensing, said: “The conditions officers found in this case were easily avoidable and illustrate the kind of immediate action that can be taken against businesses when, despite having been warned, they continue to break the law with poor standards of hygiene.
“This is an example of how the council’s food safety officers work to ensure that residents can have confidence in where they eat, as can be viewed on the council’s food hygiene ratings web pages, where the results of officers’ inspections show that most food premises in Elmbridge are actually of a high standard.”
Asad Khan, the owner of Indian Dining, said the infestation had been caused by rats getting into an outside shed the restaurant used for food deliveries.
He said: “Basically, we had a shed outside and all along the back there is a broken drainage system. We have now had the shed knocked down, because it was becoming dilapidated, and a new shed has been constructed.”
He added the rats would not be able to get into the new shed and the restaurant had reopened for business following a satisfactory follow up inspection.
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