WIRRAL Council has released a grim image showing mouse droppings inside a takeaway after it successfully took the business to court.
Officers had found mouse droppings on several occasions throughout the Tandoori Mahal restaurant at 24-26 King Street in Wallasey.
Three linked cases over the business were heard on January 16 at Wirral Magistrates Court and the takeaway was told to pay more than £14,000.
The droppings were found next to open salads, spices, behind freezers, near poppadoms and equipment used to serve food.
The restaurant is currently managed by a company called Luthfa Tandoori Ltd who pleaded guilty to 13 offences.
Mouse droppings found inside the Tandoori Mahal takeaway in Wallasey following a Wirral Council investigation (Image: Wirral Council)
Roushanara Begum, of Mill Lane, Wallasey and the company’s sole director had pleaded guilty to six offences while her brother Ajmol Ali, of Seabank Road, Wallasey, had pleaded guilty to 13 offences.
Following the court case, a Wirral Council spokesperson said: "Maintaining the highest possible food standards across the restaurant and takeaway sector in Wirral is a priority for us as a council and a statutory responsibility we take very seriously.
"While no-one wants to see the reputation and viability of a business threatened by the outcome of food hygiene and safety inspections, the very least anyone can expect of people who are selling and serving food to customers is that they adhere to basic hygiene and health and safety standards.
"In this case, the failings were serious and ongoing and despite the owner and manager of the business being given clear direction about what they needed to do and sufficient time to make the required changes, issues persisted and ultimately officers were left with no alternative but to prosecute."
The court heard the restaurant offering in-house dining and takeaway food had been run as a family business for over 30 years with Ali running the business day to day. The restaurant was previously managed by Tandoori Mahal (UK) Limited which dissolved in 2016.
Wirral Magistrates heard Wirral Council had previously prosecuted a case against Ali for similar issues in 2017. Linked charges against Tandoori Mahal (UK) Limited had been dropped after the company dissolved.
Ken Abraham, prosecuting on behalf of Wirral Council, said the local authority’s environmental health officers had visited the business on a number of occasions on June 11, 12 and 18th 2023 as well as in August 2023 and February 2024.
He said during the first inspection on June 11, there was "evidence of widespread pest activity" as well as poor cleaning and failing to comply with the company’s food hygiene procedures.
The court heard Ali was present during this inspection and Mr Abraham said officers found mouse droppings in various places across the business including in its kitchen, its bar area, next to open salads, vegetables, open bags of rice, as well as equipment to serve food. Holes were also found while old equipment and rubble was spotted in an external storage area.
Food was also found to have fallen behind food preparation tables which had “accumulated for some time.” The council said the droppings raised concerns there was a high risk of food being contaminated.
After this inspection, Mr Ali agreed to voluntarily close the business so he could make sure they had the processes in place to make sure food was safe. It was found a food hygiene pack – a series of guidelines laying out how to safely and hygienically prepare food – hadn’t been reviewed in the last three years despite an expectation this should be reviewed annually.
Five mouse droppings were found in the store room on June 15 though the council was told the restaurant had undergone a full clean and disinfection, a number of other steps were taken and the closure was lifted. The restaurant was later given the lowest food hygiene rating of zero.
During a visit on August 21, mouse droppings were found again, including next to bowls of spices and near a hot cupboard that stored poppadoms. Some action had been taken by staff but the court heard Ali could not offer an explanation for why some measures adopted following the previous inspection weren’t taking place and the restaurant voluntarily closed again.
A further inspection was carried out in February 2024. While no evidence of pest activity was found, a food hygiene pack hadn’t been updated.
While no one had reported being ill after eating food at the premises, Mr Abraham argued the evidence of pests found by the council suggested a high risk of harm and people were unlikely to report issues.
However Sinead Fearon from RMNJ solicitors as the restaurant’s defence argued this lack of evidence including on social media meant the risk of harm as a result of any pest contamination was lower, adding: “Despite the fact there was a very thorough investigation, there was no evidence of actual widespread risks.”
The court also heard Ali had been under stress looking after his wife had cancer which meant “he wasn’t as focused as he should have been.”
She said the business had been in the family for several decades and “was their effective playground” growing up.
She pointed out on June 15, Ali was able to demonstrate measures had been put in place including placing equipment in containers and said the restaurant had been proactive in addressing the issues, accepted responsibility, cooperated with investigators and was able to open again.
She asked the court to consider this cooperation when sentencing Ali and judge the case on its own merits. The court heard he didn’t want to cause his sister stress and looking after his wife and two young children had had an impact.
Ms Fearon said: "It was a lot. It affected him physically and mentally as well. There was a lot of pressure that he was under," adding: "He is the main breadwinner in his household as his wife works two hours a day."
She said it was not a business "benefitting from a backstreet operation not looking after any customers based on their food hygiene record," and argued it would be able to improve and continue trading.
Ms Fearon said while Begum was a director of the company, she wasn’t working in the restaurant. The court heard "she accepts she should have kept more of an eye on the business and the premises” adding “she feels it was a huge responsibility" and "feels that she let her brother down."
It was also heard Begum is in receipt of Universal Credit due to health issues that mean she could not carry on working as a carer. Ms Fearon said Begum would only be able to afford a limited fine.
District Judge James Clarke acknowledged eradicating pests “isn’t necessarily a quick fix” but some progress had been made and the restaurant had cooperated with the council’s investigation. However the court ordered the restaurant and individuals to pay a total of £14,320.
The court ordered Luthfa Tandoori to pay £6,000 in fines, £2,000 surcharge, and £4,000 of Wirral Council’s costs on two offences. Begum was fined £200 each on two offences, a £160 surcharge, and costs of £180 while Ali received three fines totalling £1,000, a £400 surcharge, and £180 in costs.
