INSPECTORS found hams hanging from a rafter that was covered in bird droppings when they visited a popular restaurant in York city centre.
The find was in a storage garage for the Italian restaurant Il Paradiso del Cibo in Walmgate.
At York Magistrates Court today, Thursday February 26, the restaurant's owner Paolo Silesu admitted nine food hygiene offences and was fined £14,626 including costs.
The court heard the restaurant was visited by environmental health officers over several months and offered advice at each visit about what improvements were needed, but Mr Silesu failed to take it on board.
Officers repeatedly found problems including poor levels of cleanliness in the kitchen, issues of disrepair and insufficient lighting in a food handling area.
Matthew Collins, for Mr Silesu, said that he had brought in food safety experts and spent thousands of pounds improving the restaurant, including closing it for a week last month for structural work so it met food hygiene regulations.
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