Dirty rat down at village shop
Shock for shoppers after store is overrun with vermin
A RAT was found nibbling cat food at a village grocery, it has emerged.
And the hungry beastie was even caught on camera as it raided the food store.
This little one was gorging on Felix beef with jelly.
Only now has the astonishing vermin story emerged despite the incident happening in 2015.
A store at the shop - the Catrine Mini Market - was used to stash piles of junk including out of date grub.
And the place was OVERRUN with rodents.
The former boss of the store, Sachin Patel, is now paying the price after being hit by a £ 2000 fine.
It was revealed that Patel - now no longer running the shop - did not even have anyone to take away his stinking rubbish.
In 2015, the Environmental Health team at East Ayrshire Council received a complaint about a foul smell coming from a locked store attached to Catrine Mini Market.
The team investigated the complaint and discovered a “severe” rat infestation in the shop and in the flats above.
The shop was immediately closed by Environmental Health to protect the wider public from any health risks.
The locked store attached to the shop had been used to accumulate vast amounts of rubbish, including food waste. It also became clear, as the investigation developed that Patel did not have a waste contract which is a legal requirement under The Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Councillor Jim McMahon said: “The Environmental Health team are to be commended for their quick action to protect the wider community from this rat infestation and for taking strong action against the individual who operated Catrine Mini Market at the time.
“Mr Patel received a significant fine from the Sheriff which reflects the seriousness of this situation.
“The Environmental Health team inspect all food premises within East Ayrshire. They work with businesses to ensure that food hygiene requirements are met and will act to protect the public from risk.”
Patel appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court and failed to deal with refuse disposal.
He also allowed a locked store to become infested by verms and then fail to deal with it.
This was contrary to the Food Hygiene ( Scotland) Regulations.
A month after the closure the store was taken over by Mani Ahmed - who also owned and still owns the grocers across the road.
Mani said he was “disgusted” by the filthy state of the place.
He revealed: “We had to spend thousands on a total refurbishment.
“It was really bad and basically all the stock was thrown out, the shelves and ceilings taken down and everything was deep cleaned.
“The shop is now spotless and I think the community - and the environmental health - would tell us if it were not.”