A CHINESE take-away owner was fined £2,000 after admitting 13 breaches of food hygiene regulations.

Yu Lok Chiu of Lam's Take-away, Audley Range, Blackburn, admitted the offences when he appeared before Blackburn magistrates and in addition to the fine was ordered to pay £350 costs.

Alan Fairhurst, prosecuting on behalf of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said officers carried out an unannounced inspection of the shop in July.

They found dirty conditions throughout the shop, with food exposed to the risk of contamination. The window of a food preparation room, which was open, looked out onto a refuse storage area.

Simon Farnsworth, defending, said his client had never appeared before a court before. He had owned the take-away for about two years and ran it with the help of family.

Mr Farnsworth said that while the standards of cleanliness left a lot to be desired there had been no reports of anyone taken ill as a result of the incident.

He said Chiu had been ill for several days before the inspection and normal standards of hygiene had not been maintained.

"My client apologises to the court and following the visit he has undertaken a totally different regime in regards to cleanliness and food preparation," he added.

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