A businessman has been found guilty of running a takeaway covered with rat droppings and containing uncovered drains that allowed rodents in from the sewers.

Soft Bite in Bearwood Road, Smethwick, had stains all over the kitchen, holes in the walls, dirty tiles and open containers of spices, salad and vegetables.

A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday took less than an hour to convict Saed Ali of four food hygiene charges.

Ali, of Broadway Avenue in Bordesley Green, had denied being the manager of the takeaway, arguing he was simply a counter-worker who served coffee.

But the 34-year-old was yesterday found to be in charge of Soft Bite, which was owned by Bearwood Spices Ltd.

He was convicted of failure to ensure adequate pest control, failure to ensure the layout and construction of the building prevented pests, failure to ensure the premises were clean and in a good condition and failure to protect food from contamination.

Recorder Peter Cooke bailed father-of-three Ali until sentencing on September 30.

The problems at Soft Bite, which is now closed, were uncovered in an inspection by Sandwell Council environmental health officers in September 2007.

Officers immediately issued an emergency notice to close the takeaway, which served pizzas, chips, kebabs and burgers, after deciding there was an “imminent health risk” to customers.

Jonathan Challinor, prosecuting, aaded there was a “strong, acrid smell of rodents.”