THE owner of a Winchcombe fish and chip shop has been ordered to pay a total of £2,214 after pleading guilty to eight serious food safety and hygiene offences at Cheltenham Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Tarlochan Dhillon of the Winchcombe Fish Bar, North Street, was prosecuted by Tewkesbury Borough Council following an inspection and a subsequent investigation by environmental health officers.

He was fined £680 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs as well as a £34 victim surcharge.

Mr Dhillon pleaded guilty to the following offences:

• Failure to ensure food premises are kept clean and maintained in a clean condition.

• Failure to ensure equipment which comes into contact with food is adequately cleaned.

• Failure to provide food handlers with suitable clean protective clothing.

• Failure to ensure food ingredients are protected against contamination.

• Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice relating to food hygiene training.

• Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice relating to food safety management.

A further two offences related to staff hygiene training and the implementation of risk management principles.

Lead member for clean and green environment and borough councillor for Winchcombe, Councillor Jim Mason, said: “This is the second successful prosecution we’ve had in the borough since July and we will continue to be vigilant on behalf of our residents who trust these establishments to provide food that is prepared and cooked in a safe and hygienic way. I am very grateful to our environmental health officers for helping bring this case to court and for their expertise and professionalism. We take food safety and hygiene offences extremely seriously and I’m glad the court has reflected this in the sentence given.”