A British restaurant owner was sentenced to six years in prison for the death of a man with peanut allergies after court found that he cut corners on his spending by adding peanuts to his menu without telling customers.

Paul Wilson, a highly allergic bar manager, died in 2014 after eating chicken tikka masala that Mohammed Zaman's restaurant had promised was peanut-free.

Prosecutors had argued that Wilson's death was the result of Zaman swapping out almond powder for a cheaper, peanut-based mix. The 52-year-old owner even ignored another customer's near-death experience, they said.

"Time and again he ignored the danger and did not protect his customers," prosecutor Richard Wright told a jury in Middlesbrough in northeast England, according to the Daily Mail. Zaman had "put profit before safety, and he cut corners at every turn."

Zaman's conviction, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.K., could set an example worldwide by showing restaurants can be held accountable for not heeding their customers' allergy needs.

"Paul's death was avoidable and the outcome of this case sends a clear message to those who operate similar businesses that if they choose to operate in such a grossly negligent way, they are liable to prosecution as well as having to live with the potential deadly consequences," said North Yorkshire Police detective inspector Shaun Page in a statement.

Paul Wilson had spent his life meticulously avoiding peanuts, ever since learning of his allergy at age seven. His parents had eliminated all foods containing even a hint of peanuts. And when Wilson went to work in the hospitality industry as a bar manager, his allergy made him extra attentive to the dietary requirements of his customers.

"He rang at eight o'clock that night, said he'd got his curry, he was home," his mother, Margaret, told the BBC. "And his last words were 'I love you both and I'll talk tomorrow.'"

Police found Wilson's body slumped over the toilet, where he had desperately been trying to expel his deadly dinner.