A west London tandoori restaurant and its manager have been fined more than £22,000 after inspectors found hundreds of cockroaches on the premises.
Harlington Tandoori, close to Heathrow Airport, and its manager Joshua Money were ordered to pay £22,498.75 in total after admitting seven food hygiene offences at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on January 28, Hillingdon Council said.
The court heard how the alarm was first raised when a customer complained about a cockroach crawling across their table in September 2023.
Food hygiene inspectors then found hundreds of cockroaches crawling through the restaurant, its bar, kitchen and stockroom, as well as dirty cooking equipment and unlabelled food, according to Hillingdon Council.
Money agreed to close the restaurant with immediate effect, but inspectors found further food hygiene failings when the business reopened in October. Further failings were found during an inspection in February 2024.
Hillingdon Council said the persistent food hygiene failings occurred despite Harlington Tandoori being previously convicted and fined nearly £5,000 for an infestation of rats and cockroaches in November 2018.
Money was fined £512 and ordered to pay a £205 victim surcharge and the council’s prosecution costs of £1,890, totalling £2,607.
He was also handed a hygiene prohibition order, preventing him from participating in the management of a food business for 18 months.
The restaurant, trading under Heathrow Tandoori Limited, was also fined £16,000 and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and costs of £1,891.75, totalling £19,891.75, council officials said.
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Community and Environment, said: “This is a shocking case, where despite a previous conviction and multiple improvement notices, this restaurant consistently failed to uphold basic standards of cleanliness, putting residents’ health and safety at a high risk, and as a consequence they must now pay the price for their actions.
“I hope it serves as a strong warning to other businesses that neglecting food hygiene and training will not be tolerated.”
