Rat-infested shop owners fined £8k

At a hearing, held at Hastings Magistrates Court on November 28, magistrates heard that TS Traders Ltd and the director of TS Traders, Yogalingam Thavarajah, the owner of Price Cutters, in London Road, taped up packets of food that had been gnawed by rats and put them back on sale.

Rother District Council (RDC) environmental health officers visited the premises in September 2011 and discovered evidence of a rat infestation in the shop including a dead rat, rat droppings, and gnawed packets of food on the display shelves. 

Officers were shocked that bags of food which had been gnawed open by rats had been taped up and put back on the shelves (pictured).

The officers served an emergency closure order on the business due to the serious risks to public health and only allowed them to re-open when officers were completely satisfied that the risk to health no longer existed.

At the hearing TS Traders Ltd and Yogalingam Thavarajah, were ordered to pay a fine of £8,000 and £3,245 costs by Hastings magistrates after pleading guilty to several offences relating to a rat infestation.

RDC’s Head of Environmental Health Richard Parker Harding said: “While we always try to work with businesses to help them achieve compliance with the law, we will not hesitate to take decisive enforcement action when public health is put at risk.

“If any member of the public has concerns about food hygiene or safety in a local business they should contact Rother District Council’s Environmental Health Department, where officers can discuss their concerns and, if necessary, carry out an investigation.”

All food businesses selling directly to the final consumer will have their food safety inspection results published on-line at http://ratings.food.gov.uk/