Sweet turns sour

Mouse droppings on the floor

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THE owner of an “awful filthy state of a takeaway” has been fined £5,750 by Oldham magistrates after his “blatant disregard for hygiene” endangered public health.

Mohammed Gaffar’s Asian sweet and takeaway business, Top Sweet Centre in Manchester Road, Werneth, was shut after a routine inspection last July. Gaffar (48) yesterday pleaded guilty to eight counts of contravening the Environmental Protection Act.

When inspector Samantha Jackson arrived at the premises she saw a customer trying to chase flies from a kebab, a box of raw chicken covered in flies on the kitchen floor and trays of uncovered kebabs.

There were mouse droppings on shelves, on the floor and under the fridge, which the inspector believed was an “immediate danger” to public health.

The shop had refuse in the rear yard, filthy toilets and even a dirty bar of soap and dirty towels were thought not fit for their purpose.

The court heard Gaffar had been warned about shop hygiene in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Gaffar shut the takeaway before resuming trading two days later, after an intensive clean-up.

Gaffar accepted responsibility, admitting he had been “lazy due to Ramadan”, he apologised for the state of the shop.

Since reopening, Gaffar has gained food hygiene certificates, agreed to maintain a food-standards book and lifted the store’s cleanliness rating from zero to two (out of five) on Oldham Council’s star rating system.