A KEBAB house has been fined after being convicted of flouting Covid-19 rules.

Shah’s Pizza and Kebab House, on Higher Bridge Street, was found to have broken curfew rules last year, at a time while the toughest lockdown restrictions were in place.

The venue was continuing to sell food and drink to customers at 11.40pm, well after the 10pm curfew set out by the government.

Cllr Hilary Fairclough, the borough's regulatory services cabinet member, said: “This business broke the Covid-19 rules surrounding business operating times and potentially put people’s health at risk. At the time Bolton was suffering from the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the country so this was particularly reckless behaviour.”

The kebab house’s rulebreaking was discovered by enforcement officers while on patrol on Saturday September 26.

According to officers, they challenged the person in charge, only for him to become increasingly unco-operative, dismissing the seriousness of the situation.

As a result, a £200 fixed penalty notice was issued to the business. But the case was brought to court after this remained unpaid. The case took almost a year to bring to court due to a backlog of hearings as a result of the pandemic.

But on appearing at Bolton Magistrates Court last week business owner Tawassal Hussain pleaded guilty to non-payment of the fixed penalty. He was fined £500 with £1,058 costs.

Cllr Fairclough “I’d like to thank the majority of venues who operating legitimately during this time.”