An Edgware cafe was closed after a health inspector discovered it was littered with rat droppings, Barnet magistrates heard.

Orhan Kilinc, owner of Edgware Cafe in Station Road, was fined £1,250 and ordered to pay £300 costs after he pleaded guilty to three offences under food safety laws on Wednesday last week.

Mr Kilinc admitted that he had failed to secure his premises against pests, put food at risk of contamination from pests and failed to provide a sink in which to prepare food.

An environmental health officer visited the cafe on March 16 this year and discovered rat droppings and electrical wiring that had been chewed through.

Holes large enough for rats to enter the cafe were found in the storeroom rear window and roof.

The officer also discovered food was being washed in a small basin in the kitchen intended for hand washing.

Mr Kilinc closed the premises and called pest control contractors in. The cafe reopened on March 21 when the officer was satisfied the rats had gone and the kitchens had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Kilinc, who took over the cafe around a year ago, thanked the council for its help.

"They have visited me every six weeks and they are very happy. It is clean and everything is perfect now. I have had no customer complaints. There is nothing to worry about."

October 17, 2001 17:36

IAN LLOYD