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A sandwich bar in central London infested by cockroaches has been fined £2,500 for poor hygiene. Dead cockroaches were found on takeaway bags and live ones were found throughout the Calabria bar in Victoria, a court heard. Calabria's owners admitted seven counts of regulation breaches at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The action was brought by Westminster City Council following a visit by environmental health officers in 2006. 'Black with dirt' Council officers told the court they found "poor cleaning, poor repair, poor personal hygiene and poor pest control". A fridge was found to "black with dirt", while inadequately trained staff failed to wash their hands during busy periods. The cafe in Buckingham Palace Road was ordered to pay costs of £2,582. Manager Jitwah Singh, who admitted two more charges, was told to pay over £3,000 in combined fines and costs. Over-zealous Mr Singh said hygiene standards had now improved, but added that he thought council officials had been over-zealous. "You know what council people are like," he said. Councillor Audrey Lewis, of Westminster City Council, said most restaurants in the borough had high levels of food safety and hygiene. She said: "In the rare instances where our officers find serious breaches of food hygiene regulations, we will pursue the necessary legal action in order to protect members of the public."

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