THE owner of a pie shop at the centre of one of Britain's worst food bug outbreaks could face prosecution.

Robson Fresh Foods, in Stanley, County Durham, was identified as the only possible source of the salmonella outbreak that infected at least 88 people during the summer.

Environmental health officers at Derwentside District Council were last night preparing a file that will be handed to the authority's legal department.

A decision on whether they will prosecute store owner Michelle Robson will be announced next month.

Environmental health team leader Keith Errington said: "The investigation has been concluded and a report will go to legal services for consideration."

The authority closed down the pie and cooked meat shop in July with a prohibition order.

Mr Errington said: "The order can be lifted at any time, on the condition that the premises are disinfected."

He said the authority was still awaiting confirmation that the disinfection work had been carried out.

"Once we are satisfied, we will lift the order and the shop can reopen," he said.

In a report published yesterday, health officials conceded that the exact source of the infection would never be known.

The multi-agency Outbreak Control Team remains convinced the focus was Robson Fresh Foods, but its findings are inconclusive.

Bruce Willoughby, specialist registrar in public health, who prepared the report, said: "It was highly likely the confirmed cases were associated with the consumption of food from these premises."

He said it could have been spread either through cross-contamination of products or by one of the store's 12 food handlers. If handlers had been infected they could have acted as carriers.

Officers twice took swabs and food samples from the shop but could not find any evidence of the salmonella bug. Staff hygiene practices were also investigated and found to be without fault.

The first cases of the food bug were reported in late July. The outbreak was declared over by mid-August, when the last case of the infection was reported.

The ages of those infected ranged from three to 82, and five cases came from one household. In total, nine people were admitted to hospital.

Eleven of the 88 confirmed cases were guests at two functions catered by Robson's - two from a wedding reception and nine from a birthday party.

Test results on a further 19 probable cases are still to come.

No one single food type from Robson's was to blame, although most of the salmonella victims had eaten chicken or another cooked meat from the store.

Dr Deb Wilson, who led the team, said they had worked to stem the outbreak before it claimed a life.

She said: "Salmonella can - very rarely - cause death, particularly in the vulnerable, such as the elderly or very young.

"That is always a concern when you have a large outbreak, and that was why we worked so hard.

"The more cases you have that are unwell, the more chance that someone is going to become seriously unwell."

The family of Brian Hume, 66, who almost lost his life to the bug, reacted with anger last night.

His son, Ian, said: "It has been a real ordeal for him. Somebody should be held to account and those concerned should be compensated where necessary."

The retired lorry driver needed an emergency operation to clear a blockage in his intestine after the infection took hold.

"He is still infected with salmonella," said his son.

"It is in his gall bladder and he may have to have another operation to remove it.

"He has been told he could be a carrier for the rest of his life."

The grandfather of ten, from Flint Hill, near Stanley, who is on holiday in Kenya with his wife, Doreen, has also started compensation proceedings.

The outbreak control team's fight to find the source of the infection and keep the number of cases under control was the first real test in the North-East for the Health Protection Agency and Derwentside Primary Care Trust.

Dr Wilson said: "The agencies all worked together very well, it was a real team effort.

"We had plans for how to identify and manage outbreaks and I am very pleased with how they worked."

The shop proprietor, Ms Robson, was unavailable for comment last night.

But the report states that she co-operated fully with the team throughout the crisis