A FORMER takeaway owner has been hit with a court bill of more than £3,000 after rodent activity and food safety violations were discovered at a Pensnett eatery.

Suba Kiran, former owner of Kens takeaway in Broad Street, was in court on June 19 after environmental health officials discovered mouse droppings and filthy conditions at the eatery.

Dudley Magistrates' Court was told there were a large amount of mouse droppings throughout the property with little done to stop mice entering the premises.

The premises, equipment and utensils were in filthy and poor condition, with walls, surfaces, equipment and electrics covered in grease.

Food was stored in old, dirty, open containers with raw and fresh meat stored side by side.

Conditions inside the eatery in Broad Street, PensnettConditions inside the eatery in Broad Street, Pensnett (Image: Dudley Council)

There were pools of dirty water and grease on stove tops and drying racks where chopping boards were stored.

The court was also told staff were untrained in hygiene measures and Kiran had been warned less than five months earlier about the condition and cleanliness of the premises when she was given a food hygiene rating of two in January 2023.

A visit undertaken in April 2023 resulted in the voluntarily closure of the premises due to the conditions.

The premises were in such poor condition that it took 15 subsequent visits to satisfy officers that it could be reopened.

Kiran, aged 34, of Balds Lane, Lye, entered guilty pleas to five food safety and hygiene breaches and was fined £923 and ordered to pay a £369 victim surcharge, plus Dudley Council’s full costs of £1,797 – adding up to a total court bill of £3,089.

Dr Mayada Abuaffan, Dudley Council’s director of public health, said: “These premises were in no condition to be preparing food for human consumption. The risk of harm was high and the owner and staff took little responsibility for even the most basic food hygiene measures.

“Thanks to our environmental health team we were able to intervene and take action to prevent the company from operating and potentially causing significant harm to its customers.”

Kens Takeaway was last inspected in June 2023 when it was given a food hygiene rating of three which means standards are generally satisfactory.

Kiran no longer runs the takeaway and Dudley Council has confirmed it has since been taken over by a new limited company.