A CHINESE takeaway has been ordered to pay more than £10,000 after inspectors found filthy conditions during a routine visit.

Can Can, in Appletree Way, Wickford, was prosecuted by Basildon Council after failing to comply with food hygiene legislation.

Magistrates said the conditions were among "the worst they had ever seen".

The case was brought in the wake of an inspection by officers from the Council’s environmental health department, who found that food handling practices at Can Can posed a serious threat to public health and the risk of food poisoning.

The restaurant had received advice from council officers following earlier inspections.

But despite this guidance and several warning letters from the Council, standards did not improve.

An inspection in March this year found conditions at the premises were still unsatisfactory.

Cleaning standards were totally inadequate, there were cross-contamination issues, hot water was not readily available and a food safety management system had not been implemented.

Raw meat, a high risk product, was being stored next to ready-to-eat food, cooked chicken was out of temperature control, and out-of-date food was found in the chiller.

A Basildon Council spokesman said: "The kitchen was coated with food debris, grime and grease, filthy tea towels were being used to dry hands and food storage containers were in a broken dirty condition posing the risk of bacterial contamination and fragments of plastic being found in the food.

"The extraction system filters were clogged with thick grease significantly increasing the risk of fire at the premises. These offences resulted in the prosecution.

"Subsequent improvements are being made and a further inspection will be undertaken in the coming weeks to re-assess the business and its food hygiene rating."

"At the hearing, magistrates stated that the photographs of the kitchen at the Can Can were the worst they had ever seen and charged the proprietor with 13 separate food hygiene offences."

Owner Sheng Jiang, of Appletree Way, was fined £500 for each offence as well as a victim surcharge of £50. He also has to pay full costs of £3,844, to the Council.

Richard Moore, Tory councillor responsible for planning, said: “The council is eager to support businesses and does not bring prosecutions lightly, but this was an extreme case and the council acted in the interest of the health of residents and visitors.”