THE owner of one of the town’s best-known Chinese restaurants has been ordered to pay more than £30,000 after pleading guilty to 11 food hygiene offences.

Connie Yap, who has run Connie’s in Old Town for more than 30 years, changed her plea to guilty at Swindon Magistrates Court yesterday.

The charges included allegations that some of the floors and walls were encrusted with congealed grease and old food matter, and the wash hand basin was greasy and dirty with damaged and deteriorating sealant.

She was fined £24,300 for the 11 offences and told to pay £9,723 in costs, bringing the total to £34,023.

Edward Hetherington, who was representing Swindon Council in court, said concerns were first identified during an inspection in 2008 and a letter was sent out.

“At that stage the premises was given a scores on the doors rating of two stars, which is satisfactory,” he said.

“There was a subsequent inspection in 2010 where concerns were identified and a letter was sent. The inspector gave a one star rating and identified a poor standard of hygiene.

“At the revisit in September he identified improvements but some of the concerns were not rectified.”

There was another visit in August 2011 and a follow up letter the next month.

A total of 27 steps that needed to be taken were identified and a further visit took place in December 2011, which was when the charges were made.

Yap originally pleaded not guilty to 14 offences in February. However, three of the charges were dropped and she pleaded guilty to 11 yesterday.

Peter Riddle, who was defending Yap in court said: “This is a well-known family business. Connie has been running the restaurant since 1982.

“Mrs Yap and her husband are grateful to the council for trying to help them to meet the requirements. They will get there, and they are getting there.

“Inspections will occur and the five star mark of excellent will be achieved but it takes time.

“There is no evidence before you of any customer having ever being ill as a result of dining in the business. There is no evidence of rat infestation or mouse infestation.

“For Connie’s, the effect of this case has been devastating. They have gone from a packed restaurant night after night, and now the customer footfall has dropped alarmingly. They are doing everything in their power to bring it back to what it was.”

Chairman of the magistrates, John Fryer, said: “The process has been going on for a number of years and you have been given ample opportunity to rectify the matters that have been brought before the court.

“The charges to which you pleaded guilty and on which we are sentencing you relate to matters of public health and hygiene.”

Coun Richard Hurley, cabinet member for public protection and StreetSmart, said: “It is disappointing that this case has ended up in court when so many hours of help and guidance have been spent trying to get the business to comply with the law.

“All of the offences found are fundamental to food safety and have been raised during inspections time and time again.

“The Food Safety team within Public Protection take these poor conditions very seriously and work hard to help businesses comply and keep the standards within their premises at a safe level, but where standards fail to improve and the public are placed at risk, legal action will be taken if appropriate.”