A KITCHEN supplying thousands of lamb samosas around Swindon which failed in a bid to cater last week's Diwali celebrations has been forcibly closed after allowing mice to infest the premises.

While the owners insist the contract to feed more than 100 people at the Hindu celebration was cancelled by the organisers at the last minute, magistrates ordered food seized from Pritam's Indian Takeaway be destroyed after damning evidence of mould, rot and rodent infestation.

The court heard today how owner Herdeep Singh had been on the radar of Swindon Borough Council since 2012, when she operated out of Cricklade Road before moving four doors down earlier this year.

Mrs Singh, of Attlee Crescent, had repeatedly denied officers access to the building until last Thursday, when they found her son, with no hygiene training, in charge.

"He had merely stepped in to help run it because she had been ill since June 2015," said Rosemary Heath, prosecuting on behalf of the local authority.

"He stated he was carrying out all necessary food preparation including cooking and storage, mainly lamb mince meat and samosas being cooked and delivered to local shops in Swindon. He said he would receive orders on his mobile phone, and there is evidence he was selling around 1,000 samosas a day; quite a high volume business.

"He also confirmed he caters for parties, normally of up to 25 people, and had planned to cater for the Diwali event in Swindon on November 8 for over 100 people, but said order was cancelled on the day."

The court heard the kitchen appeared 'cluttered and chaotic', with raw meat, cooking equipment and cat food stacked in a haphazard fashion. Mice droppings were found beneath fridges, and much of the food found was rotten or mouldy.

"The room was constructed of painted breeze blocks and partly carpeted, which would be difficult to clean and does not comply with legislation," added Ms Heath.

"Seen on makeshift tables made from storage boxes were large metal cooking vessels in which Mr Singh said he had prepared a mix of meat and peas for the next batch of samosas. He had finished cooking around 5pm and had left the food to cool down. Large fans had been placed over the samosas, in operation at the time, with a layer of dust blowing directly onto the food.

"There was a large floor standing mixer next to a makeshift table with remains of dough from the samosas with a crust that had developed over it.

"Two sinks were piled with dirty equipment, and Mr Singh said he placed raw mince and washed it in the left sink before cooking it, with the other sink used for washing equipment. There was no cross contamination control evident.

"When the fridge was pulled forward, mice droppings and nesting debris were found on the floor. The handwash basin was obstructed with equipment and surfaces were covered with food debris and detritus built up over a long period of time.

"On opening the right hand fridge, rotten cucumbers were seen which he said were for his personal consumption. Cardboard boxes of samosas were found which had been returned from an undisclosed business.

"He confirmed the business had no trade refuse contract and he took it to the household waste recycling centre on a daily basis.

"Due to the active infestation of mice where food was being stored and prepared, the hygiene emergency prohibition notice was served, and all the food was seized.

"Clearly this is an industrial scale business supplying local businesses and potentially national businesses, which is something that will need to be investigated. There is evidence the business would not stop preparation of food unless notice was served and because of the evasive manner in which Mr Singh was dealing with matters, officers had no confidence he understood the seriousness of the situation.

"Mrs Singh has failed to control the risk of contamination of food and infestation of rodents. There is evidence they were aware of the infestation, with a trap found but not set. His father confirmed the landlord of the flat above had complained mice had been present."

Magistrates ordered Pritam's cease trading immediately and all food seized be destroyed, at Singh's expense. She was also order to pay prosecution costs of £672.

Paul Simmonds, the council's environmental health manager, said after the case: "The vast majority of food businesses we inspect are doing a good job, but occasionally we come across a business which is so filthy and unhygienic that we have to close them down immediately. 

"This is one of the worst examples we have found and we will now consider whether it is appropriate to take further legal action against those responsible."