THE owner of a kebab takeaway has been fined £2,000 after hygiene inspectors found its food storage area was infested by rats.

Delight 2 owner Ferhat Bakabala pleaded guilty to four food safety offences at Oxford Magistrates Court last week.

But since the offences last year the kebab and pizza takeaway - now trading as Didcot Kebab - has bounced back with a three-star rating.

South Oxfordshire District Council also praised Mr Bakabala for making sufficient improvements to pest control procedures and the building’s structure within two months.

Earlier this month he was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.

The council said its inspectors told magistrates the food storage building was ‘infested by rats’.

It said: “They saw rats in the window before entering the area and even found live rats caught in a waste oil barrel.

“The building was also filthy with dirt and rat droppings and had construction defects that allowed pests access to the storage building and important cleaning and pest control procedures were not being followed.”

The inspection was carried out in August after a tip off from a member of the public.

Officers immediately banned the takeaway from using the storage building and forced them to dispose of all food containers which had been stored there.

No evidence of rat activity was found in the kitchen and the takeaway was not forced to close at any point.

After several follow up inspections officers were satisfied and allowed the food storage unit to re-open.

In February another inspection was carried out and a three-star rating of ‘generally satisfactory’ was awarded.

It was given a Food Hygiene and Safety rating of ‘Fair’, which puts it in the top 50 per cent of premises in the country.

It has the same rating for Structural Compliance and inspectors had ‘some’ Confidence in Management, which takes into account track record.

South Oxfordshire District Council’s food and safety manager, Diane Moore, said: “All food premises have a duty to ensure that any storage area is protected against pests.

“Not doing so poses a real risk that goods could get contaminated, potentially causing a danger to people who buy food there.”

She added: “Food safety regulations are in place for a very good reason and we will not hesitate to take action against any business which fails to meet them.”