THE former director of a Ruislip bar has been ordered to pay more than £9,000 after failing to address a plague of cockroaches and for noise.

Nikhil Walia, 38, of Kingsend Court, Ruislip, former director of Masala Gallery Limited, trading as Kho Kho restaurant and bar, admitted four breaches of food hygiene regulations and two breaches of the conditions of his licence when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.

The court was told how Hillingdon Council’s food and health and safety team made an unannounced visit to the bar in July 2022 following a complaint that a customer had found a cockroach in a meal.

The team discovered poor levels of cleanliness throughout, with ready-to-eat food stored uncovered in areas where there was evidence of live cockroaches.

There were also maintenance issues, including an open drain with stagnant standing water.

A judge granted a Hygiene Emergency Order prohibiting Kho Kho from operating as a restaurant, but this order was lifted by Hillingdon Council following evidence that the health risk had been removed.

During the same hearing, the court was told how the council’s out-of-hours nuisance team had received a call from a neighbour complaining of amplified noise coming from Kho Kho at around 11.40pm in January this year.

Walia blamed a customer for using the bar’s iPad to play the music – which the staff could then not locate to stop it.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, said: "We refuse to let businesses play fast and loose with the health and wellbeing of people in their communities.

“This is a great result reflecting the hard work of our teams which have taken to task a business director who has continued to flout the rules, with no regard to his customers or neighbours."

For the four hygiene offences, Walia was fined £1,538 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £615 and the council’s prosecution costs of £4,877.

For the two licensing offences, Walia was ordered to pay the council’s costs of £2,472.