It’s with a disturbing regularity that I come across restaurants and other food service outlets being fined or doing dumbass stuff.

Two businessmen ended up before UK magistrates after routine inspections uncovered filthy conditions and health risks at their premises.

The owners of The Green, in Cockerton, and Simo’s Pizza, on Brignall Moor Crescent, appeared separately at Darlington Magistrates Court charged with a number of hygiene related offences.

Contamination risks and “extremely dirty” conditions greeted environmental health officers who visited The Green in February.

Work surfaces and tiles were covered in grime, drinks were stored close to the toilet and staff members were not suitably dressed or appropriately aware of food safety issues, Yvonne Wood, prosecuting on behalf of Darlington Borough Council, told magistrates.

The shop’s owner, Adam Khalid Ali – of Marwood Crescent, Darlington – pleaded guilty to four contraventions of the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations Act, including failing to register the business with the council.

Representing himself, he said family problems, including the death of his grandmother, had led to the business becoming neglected.