A vegetarian specialist store in Harrow town centre is being prosecuted over its alleged dirtiness, poor standards of cleanliness, a lack of sanitation, and a rodent infestation behind the shop.

Aumkar Sweets and Savouries in Station Road, Harrow, faces eight counts under food hygiene regulations in a case brought by Harrow Council.

No plea has yet been entered, and the case has been adjourned until May 27 at Willesden Magistrates' Court.

One count says: "The cleaning was substandard in the microwave and rear of the food premises, and there were dirty fixtures, fittings, and floor and wall surfaces."

Another said: "Food was kept in open containers on a dirty floor surface in a rodent-infested rear courtyard and prepared in an area with no working tap or wash hand basin."

Other counts talk of lack of a written food safety management system, defective fixtures and a general lack of good repair, the sink taps not working, a failure to keep raw materials in appropriate conditions, and a failure to ensure food was not protected by contamination.

The company that runs the shop is legally registered at an office in Norbury, south London.

Rameshcahandra Patel, 59, a director of the business and whose address is given as the store, faces eight identical counts, as does Rutkumer Patel, 30, of the same Norbury address as the firm itself.