A TAKEAWAY owner is accused of continuing to run his chip shop despite a rat infestation.

VJ Fisheries, at Queensgate in Huddersfield, was closed down last July following an inspection by Kirklees Council’s environmental health officers.

It is claimed the premises were littered with droppings and food was being stored in a cellar infested with rats. The shop was subsequently cleaned up and allowed to reopen.

But owner Vajid Karim, 25, of Arnold Street in Birkby, is charged with several breaches of food hygiene regulations.

He was due at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court yesterday but failed to turn up. A warrant was issued ordering him to court.

It is the second time in six months Mr Karim has found himself in trouble with the law after he was prosecuted for running an illegal shisha tobacco cafe above the chip shop.