Birmingham takeaway was infested with mice during 'difficult personal period' for owner, court told

A takeaway in Birmingham was hit with a mouse infestation when the director was going through “a difficult personal period”, a court heard.

Birmingham Magistrates Court was told mouse droppings were found in a number of areas of The Original UK Fried Chicken, in Alum Rock Road, during an inspection in June 2025 by environmental health officers.

Both the company and director Alan Ali each faced three charges of breaching the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 act.

Ali did not attend the hearing on Thursday (July 30) but his solicitor Mahmood Khan had been granted authority to enter guilty pleas to all charges on behalf of the director and the company.

Mr Khan said both Ali and the company accepted responsibility for the failures identified by environmental health officers.

Simon Mortimer, prosecuting for Birmingham Council, said mouse droppings were found next to and on food packaging, in the servery, in the kitchen, near refrigeration units, next to a fryer and on shelving used to store cans of soft drinks.

He added, in the pot wash area, cleaning pads were found to be gnawed and used as nesting material.

Officers served a hygiene emergency prohibition notice and the premises was closed until the issues were rectified.

Mr Mortimer said: “There was deliberate culpability. With this amount of mouse droppings, you cannot miss them. There was a risk of public health.”

Mr Khan, defending, submitted a mitigation note to magistrates which said the company had fully co-operated and did not obstruct the investigation.

He also said the company had undertaken repairs at a cost of more than £13,000, as well as improved pest control and cleaning measures, provided additional staff training and strengthened management procedures.

On Ali, Mr Khan said: “Mr Ali is 40 years old. He is single. He is presently in Iraq caring for his mother, who is unwell and requires his support. Those caring responsibilities are genuine and ongoing.

“At the relevant time, Mr Ali had been unwell himself. He therefore stepped back from daily operational control and left a newly appointed manager in charge of the premises.

“Mr Ali accepts that delegation did not remove his responsibility as a director.

“The defence submission is not that Mr Ali was blameless, but that the offending arose from neglect and insufficient oversight during a difficult personal period, rather than deliberate wrongdoing, concealment or profit-driven disregard of food safety obligations.”

He added: “Mr Ali did not seek to frustrate the investigation. He accepted responsibility and ensured the corrective steps were taken.”

Magistrates fined The Original UK Friend Chicken £8,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £1,385.

Ali was fined £423 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £169 and costs of £1,977.