Sandwich shop owner invented a name

A sandwich shop owner desperate to avoid prosecution for having filthy premises invented an alias for himself.
Blackpool Magistrates CourtBlackpool Magistrates Court
Blackpool Magistrates Court

Jason Band also altered the wording on an official council notice put on his premises to hide to his home address from the public.

But despite his efforts, Band, of George Street,Blackpool, was taken to court where he admitted 13 hygiene offences.

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Lynda Bennett, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, said Band’s business Piknik, on Whitegate Drive, Blackpool had been visited several times by health officers.

He had been given a list of improvements to carry out. Many were not done and the council imposed a closure order on Piknik.

It was the order placed in the front window of the shop which 46-year-old Band altered and moved it.

The prosecutor said that members of the public noticed a smell coming from the premises and an inspector asked to look at the cellar drainage stepped into six inches of sewage which had collected there.

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Band had run the business since 2009 and a routine inspection revealed problems with dirty and broken tiles and rusting equipment. A meat slicer was also dirty and there was no hot water or soap in the washroom.

Food was stored incorrectly with raw meat placed above other food, causing a risk of contamination and therefore a risk to public health.

The court also heard that paperwork required by law was not up to date. The prosecutor added: ”On one visit by an inspector, Mr Band purported to be a John Roberts and said he merely an employee of Band’s.”

Howard Green, defending, said Piknik had started out successfully. But business had slumped and Band faced having to pay £8,000 a year in rent.

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He got behind with the rent and so his landlord was not prepared to deal with the blocked drains, Mr Green said.

“He has since spent £1,000 trying to put things right but realised the business was not financially viable and it has closed,” said the defence.

Magistrates sent Band for sentence at Preston Crown Court on November 30.