London kebab shop of horrors riddled with rats, cockroaches and faeces slapped with fine

A London kebab shop riddled with rats, cockroaches and faeces has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in fines and costs for being a serious risk to public health.

Shocked inspectors from Enfield Council prosecuted Ponders End Kebab over a "disgusting pest infestation" which owners "failed utterly to control".

Stomach churning pictures show dozens of cockroaches which found their way into food packaging, preparation and storage areas.

"This was a genuinely disgusting pest infestation," said Councillor George Savva from Enfield Council.

"The huge population of cockroaches on site posed an imminent risk to public health and their presence was compounded by inadequate cleaning practices with dirt, food debris and cockroach faeces found in food storage and preparation areas," he added.

The hygiene problems got worse after the kebab shop closed for a deep clean and inspectors found it was infested with rats.

"Food businesses need to understand that they are obligated to take the necessary measures to protect the public from harm," Councillor George Savva explained.

"The lapses in food hygiene and pest control were utterly unacceptable and that was reflected in the sentence handed down by the court," he added.

The council was tipped off by a customer in August 2020 who spotted a cockroach scurrying around the premises.

When officers turned up it only took a matter of minutes to spot the problem.

EBM Catering LTD which trades as Ponders End Kebab and the director were fined £436, ordered to pay half each of the Council’s costs £3,283.12 and a victim surcharge of £43 each, or a total of £4,241.12.