A RESTAURANT on the 'curry mile' was so filthy magistrates said it was one of the worst they had ever seen.

Flying cockroaches and mice droppings were found throughout the kitchens, bar and dining area of the Shahenshah curry house, on Wilmslow Road, Rusholme.

Now, the proprietors, who failed to show up in court, have been fined £31,000 - one of the biggest-ever penalties for a Manchester restaurant.

After the case, deputy council leader Jim Battle said the 'filthy, vermin-infested state' of the restaurant showed a 'wanton disregard' for public health.

Zam Restaurant Ltd, the company behind the curry house, was found guilty of six food hygiene breaches at Manchester Magistrates Court.

The court heard that on April 24 an environmental health officer visited the restaurant and found mouse droppings on sacks of rice and flour.

Open catering jars of sauce and pickles were stored on a dirty kitchen floor by a mouse hole. Kitchen walls were smeared with dirt and the shelves of fridges layered thickly with grease.

Closed

The officer immediately closed the restaurant and would not allow it to re-open until the pest problem had been sorted out and the premises scoured five days later.

After being shown photographs of the premises, magistrate, the Rev Jonathan Ordman said it was one of the worst cases the bench had ever seen, and he felt sorry for the officer who had to visit the restaurant.

The owners were fined £5,000 - the maximum possible - for each offence and ordered to pay £1,266.51 costs, with just 28 days to pay the bill.

Coun Battle said: "This is one of the biggest fines that has ever been handed to a restaurant owner in the city. The size of the fine represents how seriously these offences are treated.

"Keeping a restaurant in such a filthy, vermin-infested state shows a wanton disregard for the health of the Manchester residents and visitors to the city who eat there, and this fine should send out a clear message that this sort of practice will not be tolerated and restaurant owners will be prosecuted."

Wilmslow Road's neon-lit strip of restaurants and kebab shops - known as the 'curry mile' - has become nationally famous. But a string of the district's most famous restaurants have been taken to court for serious hygiene breaches.

Earlier this year Al Bilal restaurant was fined more than £13,000 for dirty facilities.