Repeated Food Hygiene Failures Lead to Court Penalties
Posted by Emma on 6th Feb 2025 Reading Time:
A tandoori restaurant in Harlington, London, has been ordered to pay more than £22,000 in fines after an inspection uncovered a severe cockroach infestation. Heathrow Tandoori Limited and its manager, Joshua Money, faced legal action following repeated failures to comply with food safety regulations. 
Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court heard that food hygiene officers launched an investigation on 28 September 2023 after a customer reported seeing a cockroach crawling across their table. An unannounced inspection revealed hundreds of cockroaches across the premises, including in the bar area, kitchen, and external stockroom. Inspectors also noted dirty cooking equipment and unlabelled food, raising further concerns about hygiene standards.
Given the scale of the infestation, the restaurant voluntarily closed its doors. Although specialist pest control measures were implemented, and the venue was allowed to reopen on 24 October 2023, subsequent inspections revealed ongoing hygiene breaches. Despite some improvements, multiple visits led to the issuance of two hygiene improvement notices on 13 December 2023. A follow-up inspection on 20 February 2024 confirmed that further failings remained. 
As a result, Joshua Money was fined £512, ordered to pay a £205 victim surcharge, and instructed to cover the council’s prosecution costs of £1,890, bringing his total financial penalty to £2,607. In addition, he was issued with a hygiene prohibition order, banning him from managing a food business for 18 months.
Heathrow Tandoori Limited was fined £16,000 and required to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £1,891.75 in costs, amounting to a total of £19,891.75. This is not the first time the business has faced legal action—back in November 2018; it was fined £4,933 for similar breaches involving pest control and poor hygiene standards.
Councillor Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s cabinet member for community and environment, condemned the repeated offences, stating: 
“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 high risk. As a consequence, they must now pay the price for their actions. I hope it strongly warns other businesses that neglecting food hygiene and training will not be tolerated.”
The case highlights the serious consequences businesses face when failing to meet food safety regulations. Authorities continue to urge food establishments to prioritise hygiene standards to protect public health.