When a group of customers kicked up a storm claiming that their vegetable curry had a dead mouse, the owner literally smelt a rat.
Mohammed Ali, owner of an award-winning Shajan restaurant in Clayton-le-Dale in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire is now suing the eight customers who caused the commotion on their apparent discovery last month. The party is being sued for damages to his business after food inspectors found the animal must have been deliberately put on the plate.
Not only did the mouse in question turn out to be a shrew is also, crucially, showed no signs of ever been cooked. Pictures of the dead rodent, complete with curry sauce, was circulated on social media but has since been removed.
The local council’s environment health team found the rodent had died from a trauma injury to its back, most probably after being caught in a mouse trap. Ribble Valley council’s head of environmental health, Heather Coar said: “We responded immediately and undertook an unannounced visit to the restaurant. We conducted a thorough and detailed inspection and found no evidence whatsoever of rodent activity. Additionally, the restaurant was found to have a pest control contract in place and an audit of the pest control records revealed no history of rodent activity.”
Mr Ali said: “We are victims of a targeted and malicious attack by someone who has a grudge against the restaurant.”
