At St Albans Crown Court yesterday, judge Andrew Bright described hygiene standards at the Khyber Balti House in Market Place as “lamentable”, and 41-year-old Mohammed Kemal Hussain as “incapable of running a business involved in serving food”.

Hussain, of Dragon Way, Hatfield, was fined £23,000 for 23 food safety offences, and ordered to pay costs of £12,366 to the borough council.