FOOD hygiene inspectors who visited a cockroach-infested Swindon restaurant have spoken about what they found there.

Swindon Borough Council officials visited Baban Restaurant and Takeaway, on Manchester Road last week and successfully applied to close the restaurant for safety reasons. They will lift the closure order when the serious cleanliness issues have been addressed.

In a witness statement presented to Swindon Magistrates Court yesterday, health compliance team leader Carolyn Clinton described how she found a large number of live and dead Oriental cockroaches under the sinks in different stages of their life cycle.

In her statement, Mrs Clinton said: “As I continued to examine the areas behind equipment, shelving, cooking equipment, I discovered even more Oriental cockroaches. It is usually hard to find cockroaches during the day.

“The infestation was so extensive adults and nymphs were scuttling around the premises on the floor, shelving and food preparation areas.”

“The infestation was the worst that I had ever encountered as an Environmental Health Officer in a food premises that was open, trading, and serving food.

“The conditions were appalling and showed a complete disregard to hygiene regulations and the health of the Swindon public.”

After the hearing, SBC's public protection manager Damon Green added: “The conditions found in this restaurant were truly shocking and the fact it was described by our officers as the worst infestation they had ever seen shows the scale of the problem.

“Food hygiene regulations are there for a reason, to protect the health of the public.

"I am pleased the magistrates agreed with us that this business should remain closed until the owner deals with the problem and we are satisfied there is no further risk to members of the public.

“We take food hygiene extremely seriously in Swindon and will not hesitate to take action if we believe there is a risk to local residents.”