Two Balham shopkeepers have each been fined £1,000 for selling sausages a month out of date.

The proprietors of Richway Food and Wines in Balham High Road, Kanadathpillai Baheerathan and his co-owner a Mr Kaleerathan were each fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £250 costs for breaching food safety laws.

The legal action followed a safety inspection at their shop by environmental health officers who discovered five different vacuum-packed meat products, mainly Polish sausages, that were too old to be eaten safely.

Four of the meat products on sale at the shop were between 23 and 31 days beyond their "use by" date.

Anyone eating the sausages risked food poisoning, including salmonella or even botulism - both of which can be fatal.

The court heard that the two men had been given a written warning in April 2006 after a similar, but less serious, discovery at their shop.

Wandsworth council's consumer protection spokesman councillor Malcolm Grimston said: "Anyone eating these out-of-date sausages could have suffered very serious consequences indeed.

"It is absolutely vital that all shopkeepers make sure that they are not selling anything hazardous to their customers. They need to have proper systems and procedures in place to immediately remove all out-of-date foodstuffs from their shelves.

"It is an important responsibility and one we are determined to make sure that they fulfill."