RESTAURANTS and takeaways who fail to meet strict food hygiene standards will be prosecuted, a North-East council has warned.

It followed a case in which the teenage owner of an Indian takeaway was ordered to pay more than £1,400 by Teesside magistrates for breaching food safety regulations.

Hasina Razaq, 18, proprietor of the Palace Balti House in Ennis Square, Dormanstown, was charged under the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 in a case brought by the council on Wednesday.

She pleaded guilty to failing to keep the premises clean and maintained in good repair and condition and failing to ensure the washbasins were provided with materials for cleaning and drying hands.

Razaq, of Cromwell Road, South Bank, was fined £400 on each charge and ordered to pay £623.50 in costs to the council.

The court was told it was her first offence and after the routine inspection by the council's environmental health officers, the premises were cleaned overnight.

After the verdict, Redcar and Cleveland council's food safety manager, Paul Stenson, said: "We want this to act as a clear sign to every food outlet that we will endeavour to uphold the statutory standards which all customers have a right to expect."