A takeaway has been closed down after rat and mice droppings were found.
Magistrates yesterday ordered businessman Manzoor Hussain to keep his Birkby-based New Sanam Sweet Centre shut.
They granted the hygiene emergency prohibition notice after hearing how the shop had become a haven for rodents due to its poor condition.
Samantha Lawton, prosecuting for Kirklees Council, told Kirklees magistrates that on September 19 environmental health officer Andrew Holmes visited the Blacker Road premises.
He was carrying out a routine food hygiene check but soon witnessed poor practices within the business.
Ms Lawton said: “There was open and raw food being kept above ready to eat food, causing a risk of cross-contamination.
“Cleaning was visibly poor and the premises were in a seriously poor state.”
Magistrates heard that due to the condition of the building an “entry point” for rats and mice had been created in the basement.
Ms Lawton said: “There were smear marks around the hole and a sample of rat droppings were taken.
“There was a potent smell of rat urine and on closer inspection mice droppings were found on shelving and in empty food containers.”
The prosecutor said that the rodents pose a risk to humans as they can spread diseases such as Listeria and Salmonella.
Magistrates were told that Hussain was told to improve the standard of hygiene and proof the building against pests.
However following a further visit to the business on Monday, the inspector found more mouse droppings behind a freezer and in a cup on the shop counter.
Ms Lawton said that despite ongoing improvement works since, the council was not satisfied that the premises was safe to be open to the public.
Hussain insisted that the droppings found during the inspector’s most recent visit were old.
He said: “The pest control officer was called, he put down bait and this was not touched so it’s clear.
“All work in relation to the evidence shown has been carried out.”
But magistrates granted the order, which means that the takeaway cannot open until inspectors give it the green light.
