THE former owner of a Chinese restaurant has been ordered to pay more than £9,000 in fines and costs after admitting breaches of food safety and hygiene offences.

Blackburn magistrates heard Nhan Lieng ran the Guide Village restaurant, later renamed To Be Vegetarian, during an extensive period of investigation by health officers.

The charges referred to accumulated dirt including mould, grease and food debris covering walls, floors, food preparation areas, hand basins, fridges and cooking utensils.

A “large dirty pan of chicken stock” was left uncovered on top of a cooking range for over two days.

There were also failures to comply with food information regulations relating to allergies and intolerances and the maintenance of food safety records.

As well as the financial penalty the magistrates imposed an order which bans him from taking part in the management of any food business.

“These offences could have resulted in death or serious illness for people and the investigation has cost the ratepayers a considerable amount of money,” said the chairman of the magistrates.

Lieng, 48, of Beale Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to a total of 14 offences. He was fined £5,840 and ordered to pay the full costs requested by the local authority of £3,385.

The court heard he had now sold the restaurant for half of what he had paid for it.

Shelagh Lyth, prosecuting, said following the first involvement of food hygiene officers Lieng had agreed to a voluntary closure so the premises could be cleaned. An inspection revealed that some things had been put right but by the time of a second inspection eight months later it was back to square one. She said: “The council has done its best to avoid coming to court by explaining what needed to be done and giving the defendant time to do them.

“There has been a failure to heed warnings and a complete failure to comply with hygiene requirements.”

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said his client’s mother had been extremely unwell and he had been under stress.

Mr Taylor said: “He was struggling to juggle his responsibilities as well as run the business and accepts things began to suffer. As the profits declined there was less money to employ staff and more and more fell on his shoulders. He literally went to pieces and his mental health has suffered.

“Sometimes people just cave in and that is what happened to him.”

Cllr Jim Smith, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for environment, said: “The kitchens at this restaurant were filthy, food was left uncovered for days and information wasn’t available about the ingredients in the food posing a risk to people with allergies.

“Despite the help of officers to clean up his act, the owner failed to keep hygiene standards up to scratch.

“This is not acceptable and this case shows that we will take legal action if necessary; we are pleased at the level of the fine which sends a strong message to others."