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Islington Tribune - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 21 December 2007

£25,000 fine for rat’s nest in shop

HORRIFIED health inspectors have revealed how they discovered a rat’s nest at a Finsbury Park supermarket.
The magistrate presiding over the case accused managers of Woody’s Express in Stroud Green Road of endangering lives in “the worst case he had ever seen”.
Company directors Bayram Gummus and Ilhami Incem were fined a total of £25,000 at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court last week for allowing the shop to become infested.
Environmental health officers described how they had discovered an oven used to prepare food for staff contained nesting material and was thick with rat droppings.
Rat runs led from outside the shop to the bakery area and rat droppings were found on food equipment and in food storage and preparation areas.
Environmental health officers immediately asked management to close the shop as it posed a serious risk to public health, and ordered them to carry out extensive work before reopening.
Mr Gummus and Mr Incem admitted five food hygiene offences.
They were each fined £2,500 on each offence – resulting in a total fine of £12,500 each – and ordered to pay the council’s legal costs of £1,600.
Lib Dem executive member for public protection Councillor Marisha Ray said: “This is a truly shocking case. These people put the lives of our community at risk through their irresponsible running of these premises.”

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