THE owner of a cockroach-infested restaurant has been fined £9,000 after a customer found one of the pests in her meal.

Shanti Devi Sharma, director of the company which ran Isha’s in Lye, pleaded guilty to nine offences under food safety and hygiene regulations following the incident in March last year.

Dudley Magistrates Court was told that environmental health officers from Dudley Council found cockroaches in the kitchen and beneath a chest freezer at the Stourbridge Road restaurant when they inspected the premises following the customer complaint.

Ms Sharma, of Bath Meadow, Halesowen, admitted offences including failure to have adequate procedures in place to deal with pests and failure to keep the restaurant clean and in good repair.

Further offences related to dirty and a damaged ceiling, equipment and floor coverings.

In addition to the fine, the 44-year-old must also pay £909 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

Councillor Peter Miller, cabinet member responsible for health and wellbeing, said: “Conditions at this restaurant were appalling. The premises were immediately closed and remained so for several weeks until our environmental health officers were fully satisfied the problem had been dealt with and that there was no further risk to the health of the public. The owner of the business has quite rightly now been held to account.

“I want to assure the public that cases like this are very rare and the vast majority of food businesses in the borough are well run and compliant with hygiene and safety rules."

He continued: “More than half of all food outlets in the borough are achieving the top hygiene rating of five and the vast majority achieve a satisfactory rating of three or more.

“I would urge consumers to check out hygiene ratings online as these provide a glimpse of what is going on in the kitchen when they eat out, or behind the scenes at the places they shop.”

Ratings in Dudley can be viewed online at www.dudley.gov.uk/foodsafety or at www.food.gov.uk/ratings.