Food inspectors were called into a Tooting take-away restaurant after a woman found a cockroach in her burger.

Chicken-2-Go, on Upper Tooting Road, has been fined £3,500 by magistrates and ordered to pay £2,000 costs after admitting four food safety and hygiene offences.

During their raid in August last year, officers found the restaurant infested with cockroaches, with bugs in the oil, food bags and take-away boxes.

Mouse droppings were also found near the ovens and in other food preparation areas, while parts of the walk-in fridge were covered in black mould.

A district judge ordered the shop be closed immediately, with pest controllers and cleaners taking a week to make it safe again.

The owner of the business, Abdul Durani, was then taken to court by the council.

In another similar case, the owner of sweet manufacturer Linaway Ltd – trading as Mishtidesh - was fined a total of £2,800 after pleading guilty to four offences.

Magistrates were told that a routine food safety inspection at Rokeya Begum's business on Mitcham Road uncovered a mouse and cockroach infestation.

Councillor Sarah McDermott, food safety spokeswoman, said: "These cases should serve as a stark warning to other food businesses that are tempted to take a risk with the health and well-being of their customers.

"If you run a food business in Wandsworth then you must ensure the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness.

"If your premises are not up to scratch then you can look forward to the possibility of immediate closure and prosecution in the courts, plus all the ensuing bad publicity that these cases inevitably attract."