A CRISIS-hit curry house in Flackwell Heath has bounced back after receiving a five-star food safety rating in a recent inspection.

The Radhuni Indian restaurant on Straight Bit, which has been trading for nine years, cleaned up their act after being prosecuted in May for food hygiene offences committed last year.

And an Environment Services inspection last week found the improvements made to the kitchen warranted a five-star food hygiene rating – the best grading available.

Since the news broke about the fine, which came after a customer found a cockroach in their takeaway bag, customer numbers at the restaurant have taken a severe downturn.

Owner Akthoraz Miah is delighted with the progress he and his staff have made, and has vowed to keep up the work as he tries to regain the trust of customers from the village and beyond.

He said: “We have been in the news for the wrong reasons recently, and so after all our hard work over the last six months to improve standards, we’ve been waiting for this and it’s great news.

“The situation with the prosecution has almost killed us as a business. Since then we’ve lost maybe 60 to 70 per cent of our trade, but we’re still here and will carry on getting better.

“We want people to know that we were working hard anyway to improve standards, and it’s not just the prosecution that made us act. We were open about it at the time and admitted to it in court.

“I realise confidence in us was lost, and it is a small village so news travels fast. We want people to know they can trust in our food and come here like they used to in big numbers.

“To start with I was hiding my face around the village, but after months of hard work it’s finally paid off with the five-star report.”

Over the last few months, Mr Miah and his staff have re-painted the kitchen, bought new appliances, updated their food safety paperwork system and overhauled their checking system on deliveries.

All staff hold a valid food hygiene certificate and have also received extra training in their respective roles.

Radhuni this week received notification of the five-star rating, which equates to ‘very good’, and are due to receive the new certification shortly.