A MAN with a severe peanut allergy died after eating a curry from a restaurant whose owner repeatedly ignored warnings that he could be putting customers' lives at risk, a court heard.

Restaurant owner Mohammed Zaman, was almost £300,000 in debt when he switched from using ground almonds to mixed nuts in a bid to cut costs – a move which led to the death of a North Yorkshire man.

Zaman, 53, from Huntington, York, is charged with the manslaughter of Paul Wilson who died after eating a meal which contained peanuts in January 2014.

Mr Wilson died just weeks after a teenage girl was hospitalised with anaphylactic shock following a meal at another of Zaman’s restaurants.

Mr Wilson, 38, was found dead at his home in Helperby, North Yorkshire, after buying a takeaway containing peanuts from the Indian Garden restaurant, in Easingwold, owned by Zaman, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Zaman, of Aylesham Court, Huntington, is accused of Mr Wilson's manslaughter after he took a "reckless and cavalier attitude to risk" and "put profit before safety" at the restaurants he owned, the jury heard. He denies manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice and six food safety offences.

At the time, the restaurateur, who also owns the Jaipur Spice restaurant in Easingwold, as well as a restaurant in York, was in debt to the tune of £294,667.88.

Prosecutor Richard Wright told the court Zaman had “an acute need to save money” and had recently swapped from using almond power in his kitchens to the cheaper groundnut powder – which contains the potentially deadly peanut.

And despite a warning from his supplier, he did not tell customers that he was using peanut ingredients.

Zaman also received warnings from Trading Standards following 17-year-old Ruby Scott’s visit to Jaipur Spice in Easingwold in January 2014.

Miss Scott informed staff of her nut allergy and was told her chicken korma was safe to eat – but her throat and mouth started to swell, she broke out in a rash and repeatedly vomited after eating her food.

She was rushed to hospital where she made a full recovery, and following the near miss the restaurant was visited by food inspection officers who found traces of peanut in a ‘nut-free’ meal.

The week before Mr Wilson’s death, Zaman had been urged by his supplier to alert customers to the change of ingredients, informed of Miss Scott’s severe reaction and warned by Trading Standards about the groundnut powder causing the illness.

The court heard pub chef Mr Wilson “did not take risks” with his health and would be clear his food should contain no nuts.

His order slip from the restaurant had ‘no nuts’ written on it, as did the lid of his takeaway meal.

Mr Wright said: "Mohammed Zaman received numerous warnings that he was putting his customers' health, and potentially their lives, at risk.

"Tragically for Paul Wilson, Mohammed Zaman took none of those opportunities and ignored all of the warnings he was given.

"His was a reckless and cavalier attitude to risk and one that we, the prosecution, would describe as grossly negligent.

"Time and again he ignored the danger and did not protect his customers. The evidence will establish that Mohammed Zaman put profit before safety and that he cut corners at every turn."

Janine Mitchell, financial investigator for North Yorkshire Police, said Zaman had several bank accounts with Lloyds Bank, one with Santander, and three loan accounts as well as current accounts.

She said: “We looked at the business accounts from January 31, 2013, to January 31, 2014. Several of the accounts were opened in April 2013 and typically had an overdraft of £10,000 – which were used to their limit soon after they started being actively used.”

She said some of the accounts were in excess of the overdraft limit and several cheques had bounced.

Alistair Webster QC, for the defence, asked Mrs Mitchell if she had checked other bank accounts in Zaman’s name, and if she had looked into the profitability of the business – which she had not.

He said: “There must have been some security against the loans otherwise the banks would not have agreed them.

“The wider picture is not clear – we have no idea what other bank accounts there might be, what the financial position of the other accounts might be, what security the banks had, and the profitability of the companies.”

But Craig Hassall for the prosecution said the line was blurred between business and personal use in the accounts – with transactions for school fees, designer clothing and McDonalds paid alongside business payments.

The trial continues.