The owner of a London Road curry house has been hit with a £6,000 fine after a food poisoning outbreak which led to more than 200 people being taken ill.

Sivapathasundaram Premanathan, director of VP & Sons, which owns Spiceland in Broad Green, pleaded guilty to 20 food hygiene offences at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on December 12 and was hit with a £6,000 fine.

Environmental health officers at Croydon Council were alerted by the organiser of a coming-of-age party in December 2014, which was catered by the restaurant, after which more than 200 guests fell ill.

They discovered the food for the party had been produced and delivered from Spiceland, which had failed a food hygiene rating a month earlier.

When the inspectors returned a few days after the party, they found “very dirty” conditions in the kitchens; the washing up sink smelled of sewage, the walk-in chiller was dirty with food spillages and debris, raw meat and chicken was stored directly above ready-to-eat food and the hand wash basin could not be used because it was cluttered with dirty cloths and utensils.

They also found staff were ignorant of basic food safety practices and were seen handling food without washing their hands.