A baker has been banned from running part of his business after environmental health officers found dead flies and mouse droppings on the premises.

Yehuda Grinberg, 49, owner of the Westcliff Bagel Bakery, was banned from running a bakery when he appeared at Southend Magistrates' Court.

Grinberg was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,289 in costs after a last minute guilty plea to breaking food safety laws and not cleaning up the bakery.

The unusual move to ban him from running a bakery came after the court heard Grinberg had previous convictions for similar charges in 1996, when he was fined £2,500.

However, justices were careful to allow the shop front, delicatessen and butchers in the Hamlet Court Road store to keep on trading as environmental health inspectors had no problems with those parts of the business.

Prosecuting, Mike Vancoevorden from Southend Council told the court how health inspectors found a catalogue of faults on October 29 last year including:

Flies hovering in the air

Damaged mesh screens on the windows letting insects into the bakery

A "thick deposit of mould" in the head of a hose used to put water in the bagel boiler

Dead fruit flies around the walk-in chiller unit

Large quantities of mouse droppings and dirt on the floor behind a freezer.

Grinberg was sent a letter listing 91 faults that needed fixing but he failed to do enough work by February 9 and subsequent visits showed little improvement - even as late as last Wednesday.

Defending, Miss Diana Cade presented magistrates with a bundle of testimonials from Southend's Jewish community.

She said: "It really isn't a case of burying his head in the sand.

"He has really made many, many efforts to improve the premises which have imposed numerous difficulties on him in his daily working life.

"This firm is one of the sole providers of genuine kosher food in the area.

"The premises are monitored by a lay-member of the Jewish community to ensure that the traditional kosher methods are well maintained.

"He supplies to many premises throughout the area and it is really important to understand that he has never ever received a complaint - either of any bits in food or outbreaks of any illness."

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