Chesters closed temporarily after horrific cockroach infestation

We have been betrayed by our favourite takeaway as council inspectors discovered a severe cockroach infestation in Chesters at their Lime Street chain.

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The food safety inspector Mr Parkinson was first alarmed by the dead cockroaches and cockroach eggs around the kitchen, before discovering the full scope of the chain’s hygiene issues.

Raw meat stored above fresh salad

The staff were also reported to have not been given sufficient facilities to wash their hands, and that the chain had no formal hygiene plan.

oh no

The company owning Chesters, Smithdown Road Fast Food Ltd, has been ordered to pay £10,720 in fines for breaches of 17 food hygiene laws. The Company Director Arifa Patel and her husband Sadiq Patel who managed the branch, were to pay £2,550 each.

Other problems included the fridge being kept at 11 degrees (over the legal limit of 8 degrees), damage to shelves and flooring that prevented cleaning, and food debris on floors.

The prosecutor representing Liverpool City Council, Roger Mann, said to the court: “Really the photographs speak for themselves.

Yum

“There was a severe risk to the public despite repeated visits and advice being given. There were real problems when the inspectors returned.

“This we say is one of the worst cases we have ever come across and we ask you to sentence accordingly.”

Agreeing to close the branch temporarily, Mr Patel said: “I would like to apologise for all this. For the last 19 years I have been in the fast food business and I have never been given a rating of less than four stars. The reason this happened was because when I took over the business my health began to suffer with an illness that doctors are still trying to diagnose.

“A few weeks after I took over my dad’s health went down and doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital said he would not be with us for long.”

Whether we forgive Mr Patel for his mistakes, this travesty will probably not stop us eating there again.

Photography and video credit: Liverpool Echo