A COUNCIL department has denied it acted heavy-handedly in temporarily closing down a bakery after finding cockroaches on the premises.

Easington District Council's environmental health officers obtained a court order against Blackhall wholesalers James Stephenson last week.

The action prompted an angry response from Martin Stephenson, whose family firm supplies two hospitals and dozens of local outlets.

Mr Stephenson claimed he had taken prompt action after the cockroaches were discovered, calling in two pest control companies, both of which described the infestation as "light".

Mr Stephenson said that as a result of the "heavy handed action", he would not re-open the long-established business bringing a loss of 25 jobs to the former mining community.

Yesterday, Easington's principal environmental health officer, Keith Parkinson, stood firmly by the authority's actions and denied the "heavy handed claim''.

He said: "The action was very necessary in the circumstances. We caught approximately 50 cockroaches in food rooms on the premises, which I do not consider to be a light infestation.''

He added: "Cockroaches can carry food poisoning bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli and habitually crawl from dirty areas including drains to food preparation surfaces and food stores.''

He said that any number of cockroaches could not be tolerated on premises which prepare food for human consumption.