A POPULAR Indian restaurant was shut down for two days after environmental health officers discovered an infestation of cockroaches.

Bury Council's health inspectors found scores of live German cockroaches on the premises of the Khan Saab restaurant, in Bury New Road, Whitefield, during a routine visit.

They immediately ordered the premises to close on Thursday night of last week on the grounds there was "an imminent health risk".

After urgent work to get rid of the infestation by Rentokil, the restaurant re-opened for business on Saturday evening .

On Tuesday this week, Bury magistrates backed the Council's action to issue an emergency prohibition order and awarded full costs of £632 to the authority.

The court heard how an inspector saw cockroaches crawling on the restaurant bar and noted that employees of a pest control company were sweeping up large numbers of cockroaches from the floor.

Bury's food safety team were alerted and another inspection revealed cockroaches, both alive and dead, in the cellar area of the premises where food was being stored.

One of the creatures was spotted crawling in an open box of poppadoms, and there were living and dead cockroaches on food packaging, on freezers and in the public bar. And some were found on food preparation surfaces and equipment in the kitchen area.

Officers also noted poor conditions, such as the build-up of grease and debris under work surfaces and damaged flooring, which they believed were likely to encourage the breeding or presence of cockroaches.

Steve Hoyle, the council's food safety manager, said: "There was a heavy infestation of German cockroaches in the premises and we had no hesitation in ordering its immediate closure to protect public health. Cockroaches are known carriers of diseases such as salmonella, which can cause serious food poisoning and even death in extreme cases."

He said cases like this were rare, probably one incident a year, but hoped their action would send a strong message to food businesses that have not kept their premises up to scratch.

He added: "Members of the public are entitled to feel confident when they go into a restaurant."

The proprietors of Khan Saab, Saleem Baria and Mona Maqbool, did not attend court and did not contest the council's case.

Speaking after the case, Mrs Maqbool assured customers that everything was back to normal.

She said: "This was something that was out of our hands as we believe the problem came from a delivery.

"We have had a contract with Rentokil since we opened five years ago and they visit once a month. As soon as we detected a problem our pest control firm was informed.

"We took every precaution and immediately got the matter treated. It was a shock but there is always a risk with outside deliveries. It had nothing to do with our hygiene."