A JAPANESE restaurant has been fined £8,000 for operating in filthy conditions, including a mouse infestation.

Lin Palace Ltd, was also ordered by Teesside Magistrates, to pay £694 costs for breaching hygiene rules.

Middlesbrough Council's Community Protection Service brought the prosecution against the company after environmental health officers found a "serious and extensive mouse infestation'' throughout the Lin Palace teppanyaki restaurant on the town's Linthorpe Road.

They discovered pest damaged stock, and the premises in a dirty condition during a routine visit.

The offences were not keeping food protected against contamination, failing to keep premises clean and in good repair, failing to have a food safety management system in place, and failing to ensure proper pest control Lin Palace Ltd was fined £2,000 for each of the four offences and pleaded guilty to all charges.

The owners closed the restaurant voluntarily to tackle the infestation and give the premises a thorough clean, last November.

It was allowed to re-open a few days later after council officers were satisfied with the work carried out.

Wayne Flowers, Principal Environmental Health Officer, said: "There was a severe mouse infestation and poor standards of cleanliness. The owners were aware of the problem but failed to take steps to deal with it."

Coun Barry Coppinger, Executive Member for Community Safety and Leisure, said: "The poor standards in this restaurant could have had serious consequences to customers' health. The penalty imposed reflects the severity of the conditions and the owner's failure to consider their customers' safety."