A catalogue of food hygiene violations has seen a Norbury restaurant closed and its owners forced to pay out more than £5,000.

Grease-covered work surfaces, filthy cleaning cloths and poor food stock control were discovered by food safety inspectors when visiting Tandoor Restaurant.

Owners of the restaurant, New Tandoor Ltd, admitted charges of no food-safety management system, untrained and/or unsupervised and uninstructed staff, and poor maintenance and cleaning when they appeared in court on April 3.

The firm was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,371.50, as well as a £15 victim surcharge.

Councillor Simon Hoar, cabinet member for community safety, said: “The conditions found in this establishment were appalling and show how bad things can get without a proper food-management system in place.

Mohammed Shafique, the company’s food business operator, volunteered to close the restaurant to carry out cleaning, but further visits on the following two days revealed that, while some improvements had been made, they continued to fall short of required standards.

Raw meat was being stored above, and next to, ready-to-eat food.

No food in the refrigerators was date coded or covered. Food was cooling in large containers in the saucepan.

Cleaning of the kitchen remained unsatisfactory, and the wash hand basin was dry, indicating that it had not been used, and no soap was available for hand washing.

Coun Hoar added: “Despite repeated visits and advice from our food safety officers, the restaurant’s managers failed both to have the premises cleaned to a satisfactory standard, and to keep a close check on food storage and stock control.

“It’s to be hoped that this company, and others in the catering business in Croydon, take heed of this prosecution and do all they can to maintain high food-hygiene standards.”