A MAN running a Halesowen takeaway has been fined more than £2,500 for 18 hygiene or health and safety offences.

The Figaro Pizza takeaway in Peckingham Street was still listed as only having a 1 in 5 hygiene rating from council inspectors months after the offences were committed.

It is now temporarily closed because of Covid, but a new prospective owner who plans to re-open has promised to ‘sort out’ the problems.

At Dudley Magistrates Court last week Jamall Khan, aged 26, of Birmingham, admitted a string of health and hygiene offences at the takeaway which left the restaurant open to food contamination.

They included not keeping the premises and food equipment clean, not having adequate pest controls, no hot running water in some washbasins, possible contamination from the drainage, failing to train food handlers properly.

Khan was described as the employer and was fined £1,000 on three Health, Safety and Welfare charges relating to lack of handrails on stairs and poor lighting.

He was fined another £1,000 and ordered to pay £500 costs and £170 into the victim services fund on 15 Food Safety Hygiene offences.

He pleaded guilty to all charges, which dated back to January and June, 2019. Many of the offences related to ‘poor layout, design and construction,’ some to poor maintenance and cleaning; others were failings in training or not having correct procedures for staff to follow.

An application for an emergency prohibition order was withdrawn.

The restaurant is marked as 1 out of 5 in the Dudley Council hygiene ratings after an inspection which took place in January 2020, more than six months after the offences.

The rating said improvements were needed in ‘hygienic food handling’ and ‘cleanliness and condition of building.’ However, it said major improvement was needed in ‘management of food safety.’

When we rang the takeaway the phone diverted to a mobile and a man called Muhammed Ali from Birmingham said the takeaway had closed ‘three or four months ago’ due to Covid.

He said he was planning to take it over and re-open it when Covid was over.

He was planning to refurbish it with new equipment and to request a new hygiene inspection by the council.