A Croydon restaurant found littered with mouse droppings has been fined more than £13,500 after a council prosecution.

When Council food hygiene inspectors visited Karvanar in South End on November 9 2017 they found it was infested with mice.

Magistrates heard how the council inspection found mouse droppings on the kitchen floor, on dirty shelves used to stack crockery, on the lids of plastic food containers and at the bottom of a cupboard.

Inspectors also found shredded paper towels and droppings under a fridge, which indicated mice had nested there.

The owners closed the restaurant voluntarily and were allowed to reopen it the next day after a council inspection ensured it had been cleaned up.

At Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday January 15, company director Mr Manoj Poovanathu Narayankarnavar, 45, pleaded guilty to four offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 both on his own and on the company’s behalf.

They were ordered to pay a total of £13,560.

Councillor Hamida Ali, cabinet member for safer Croydon and communities, said: “By neglecting to properly clean its kitchen, this restaurant could have easily given its customers food poisoning if council inspectors had not turned up.

"I’m pleased at the result of this case, which underlines the important work done by the council’s food safety team to protect the public."

As well as two offences for poor food hygiene, the restaurant admitted one offence of failing to properly clean the premises, its equipment and fittings.

It also admitted another offence for not keeping the restaurant in good repair and condition and failing to document and implement a food safety management system so food is produced safely.