A CURRY chef who stored an empty milk bottle he used for washing his backside in the kitchen has been banned from running a restaurant.

A senior environmental heath officer felt physically sick when she found Mahbub Chowdhury had the two pint plastic Tesco container stored under the sink.

And when she quizzed him about the container, which had brown finger marks on the outside of it, he said he didn’t use toilet paper ‘for cultural reasons’.

The 46-year-old was the sole trader in the restaurant and takeaway at Yeahya Flavour Of Asia, based in the Nine Elms pub on Old Shaw Lane.

Simon Burns, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that he was already being prosecuted in April last year when council officers checked up on him.

After finding more problems he said environmental health officers Carolyn Clinton and Caroline Lock visited his kitchen again last July.

When they went into the kitchen they were stunned by the standard of cleanliness and his knowledge of allergens: which can kill.

“Most shocking, Mrs Clinton found in the kitchen under the double sink and empty plastic milk bottle that was extremely dirty and covered in brown fingerprints,” he said.

“He filled it with water from the kitchen sink and used it to wash his bottom after toileting.

“He didn’t use toilet paper for cultural reasons. Mrs Clinton concluded the brown finger prints were faecal matter.

“He said he needed to remove the faecal matter from his body after using the toilet

“So a bottle used for his cleaning his bottom found inside the kitchen where food is prepared.”

Mr Burns sad “It was a plastic milk bottle from Tesco, a two pint receptacle for milk.”

He added “The officer felt, quite frankly, sick at having the handle that.”

When he was later questioned the defendant insisted that he had been misunderstood when they spoke to him and that he always recycled the bottle.

He said that he was the only person working in the restaurant and takeaway, which has now closed down, and it was a very small kitchen.

Despite the poor cleanliness and lack of knowledge of allergens he said there had been no reports of any illnesses from customers.

Chowdhury, of Plymouth Street, admitted ten offences under food and hygiene laws. He was fined £7,500 for ten similar offences last year.

Nicholas Clough, defending, said his client was very remorseful for what he had done but his family and business had fallen apart at the time.

His wife had left him with their two children, one of whom the restaurant was named after, and his staff had also gone and he suffered asthma, heart problems and diabetes.

“It is a mixture of personal difficulties and break up of his family which caused him to lose his concentration in what he was doing,” he said.

Passing sentence Judge Peter Blair QC said “We have heard at length this afternoon about the disgusting state of the kitchen that you ran at Yeahya Flavour Of Asia, in the Nine Elms pub.

“There was a medium risk of affects on customers and a low risk serious adverse affects.”

He imposed a four month jail term suspended for two years with a four month curfew from 5pm to 7am.

He also imposed a hygiene prohibition order banning him from participating in the management of any food business.