A filthy takeaway in Hayes has been forced to serve up £20,000 in fines after admitting a string of food hygiene offences.

The director of Chef's Corner, in Dawley Road, was handed the fine for repeatedly ignoring notices from Hillingdon Council about the cleanliness of his restaurant.

Environmental health officers uncovered numerous issues, including a failure to remove old mouse droppings from the kitchen floor, surfaces and storage areas.

Officers found staff were not washing their hands before touching customers' food and food stored in freezers that were switched off.

Paint from the ceiling was peeling and dropping directly into the food preparation area and the walls were covered in grease.

Despite receiving a zero rating for food hygiene, the lowest grade possible, in January 2017 "extensive" help and advice from the council's food safety team was not acted on and conditions did not improve.

The operators failed to remove old mouse droppings despite receiving a zero star food hygiene rating

Environmental Health officers visited the premises again several months later, but found the advice had not been followed.

At Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on August 21, Actmore Ltd, which operated Chef's Corner, and its director Nirmal Pounj, 65, pleaded guilty to four food hygiene offences.

These included failing to put in place food safety procedures, failing to ensure staff were trained, failing to keep the premises clean and failing to put in place procedures to control pests.

The walls and floor of the Dawley Road takeaway were covered in grease

The company was fined £12,000 and Pounj £5,200. Both were ordered to jointly pay costs of £2,318.

Councillor Philip Corthorne, cabinet member for social services, housing, health and wellbeing at Hillingdon Council, said: "Environmental Health officers spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to help and advise Mr Pounj but in the end were left with no alternative but to take court action.

The appalling state of the takeaway and the unwillingness to do anything to improve conditions meant the owners had to pay £20,000 in fines and costs

"We hope this sends a clear message to other businesses that we simply won’t tolerate anything that puts residents in harm’s way."

The restaurant remains open and another food hygiene inspection is yet to be held. Its current food hygiene rating remains zero - urgent improvement necessary - according to the Food Standards Agency website at the time of publication.

Mr Pounj told getwestlondon: "This was a January report and it is August now. I have requested a re-inspection in writing.

"Nobody came to see us [from the council]. We have done everything single thing they asked. I have it in writing, I have the certificates. There is nothing wrong with Chef's Corner, nothing wrong at all.

Chef's Corner's shocking food hygiene landed it at bill of £20,000

"I have a letter from an Environmental Health officer saying that an unannounced inspection will be held soon.

"We have been in this business for 24 years, we have never had any issues. This issue is down to my ill health.

"From January until August we had several visits from pest control companies which said there is no problem whatsoever and we have provided all this evidence to the council. We send them documents and photographs or all the work we have done.

"This is something that happened to me and it should not have happened at all."

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