Mouse found at Bag A Baguette takeaway in Charles Street, Leicester

The first floor of a sandwich takeaway was closed after environmental health officers found a dead mouse.

City council officers shut the first floor of Bag A Baguette, in Charles Street, Leicester, after they found the dead rodent and mouse droppings in the food preparation area, near to items being prepared for public consumption.

Leicester magistrates ruled yesterday that the first floor of the food outlet must remain closed until further notice because it posed an imminent risk to public health.

Shilpa Thakrar, prosecuting on behalf of Leicester City Council, told the court environmental health officers inspected the takeaway on Wednesday after a complaint.

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Environmental health officer Susan Clement told the court they had no choice but to close the first floor of the outlet there and then because of the presence of droppings throughout the food preparation area.

She said: "In the kitchen on the hob was a pan of boiling eggs. There were droppings behind the hob and on takeaway packaging next to the hob.

"There was other takeaway packaging and there were droppings on and around the packaging and evidence of urine, too."

The dead mouse was found behind a fridge.

Ashfaq Ahmed, the owner of Bag a Baguette, who represented himself in court, admitted the takeaway should have been cleaner.

He said: "With regard to the eggs, I may be being funny, but eggs have shells.

"I don't accept the fact we were in a position to poison someone because of this."

Mrs Thakrar said the food safety officers visited the takeaway the next day but not enough had been done for them to allow it to reopen.

She attended court to apply for a hygiene emergency prohibition order to keep the outlet closed.

Ahmed told the court the business had nearly folded when he was subject to a similar order in 2011.

He said: "I don't know how we survived. If this happens again, there will be three people that are jobless as well as myself."

Chairwoman of the bench Meriel Buxton granted the emergency order. She ordered Ahmed to pay £400 costs.

The court heard the first floor of Bag A Baguette will remain closed until environmental health officers from Leicester City Council deem it is no longer presents an imminent risk to public health.

After the court case, Miss Clement said food safety officers would be inspecting the takeaway next week.