THE owner of a butchers' shop has been fined almost £1,500 after mouldy food and dirty conditions were discovered by environmental health officers.

Officers visited Emanuel Butchers, on Parliament Street, Middlesbrough, several times between July 2016 and November 2017 to carry out hygiene checks – and repeatedly found dirty conditions.

Owner Flori-Ionut Raducanu was warned that failing to improve the hygiene standards in his premises could result in legal action.

But in November 2017 conditions had deteriorated again, with serious risks of cross-contamination between raw and cooked meats, inadequate hand washing facilities and substandard cleaning while dirty food equipment and mouldy foods were found in the fridge. The premises were immediately closed until the risk to health was removed.

Raducanu, of Leinster Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to flouting hygiene regulations and fined £1,4430, ordered to pay £769 costs and a £143 victim surcharge.

Judith Hedgley, Middlesbrough Council’s Head of Public Protection, said: “Mr Raducanu did not keep good standards of cleanliness and he failed to protect the foods he served from potential risks."