The owner of an Indian restaurant in Burnham has been slapped with a huge fine after a rat infestation was discovered in a food storage room.

Rat droppings, a nest and a gnawed door frame were discovered in a store room above Unique Spice restaurant in the High Street – posing a “direct risk” of contamination to food.

Owner, Abu Siddique, was found guilty of food hygiene offences and Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on July 4 and was fined and ordered to pay costs totally £2,218.

Environmental health officers from Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils visited the restaurant in July last year and discovered evidence of an infestation.

A notice was immediately issued, preventing the room from being used to store food.

Between March 2013 and July 2017 the food hygiene scores for the restaurant fluctuated from a score of zero – urgent improvement required – and two – improvement necessary.

The restaurant was re-inspected in January and received a rating of four – good.

While his restaurant had received a poor rating, magistrates’ hailed Mr Siddique’s “exemplary character” adding he had taken the offence seriously and was “very remorseful”.

Cabinet member for environmental health at SBDC, Patrick Hogan, said: “In the South Bucks district most food businesses are broadly compliant, that is, 96% of them have a food hygiene rating of 3 or more.

“Environmental Health Officers prefer to work with businesses to help them to improve but repeated low ratings of 2 or below are intolerable and formal action is likely to take place, as in this instance."

To check restaurant’s hygiene ratings visit https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme#finding-a-rating