A town centre food store has been handed a huge fine after a cockroach infestation was found there.

A council health inspection in December 2015 found "a severe infestation" in the M M Cash and Carry in Ashford.

The business was closed for four days after dead and alive cockroaches were found on the main shop floor.

Now, business owner Bhram Babar Baig has been landed with a £2,000 fine by magistrates and ordered to pay £2,772.31 in costs.

He appeared before magistrates in Canterbury last month and pleaded guilty to four offences - which he was fined £500 each for.

ABC was given £2,572.31 in costs and Baig was also ordered to pay a £200 victim surcharge bringing the total he was told to pay to £4,772.31.

Ashford council health inspectors shut the shop, in New Rents, after the insects were found and the immediate public health risk was dealt with.

They were also found in the washing up room, on floor surfaces, work surfaces, utensil storage shelving and in the staff toilet area.

Council inspectors said they believed it was clear no pest control contract was in place to treat and control the infestation.

An Ashford Borough Council statement said: "Food Safety Officers concluded that it was highly likely that the cockroaches had contaminated much of the food on sale, through consuming, crawling and defecating on the products."

The insects pose a risk to human health because they carry food poisoning germs including salmonella on their bodies. They are also capable of spreading dysentery and gastroenteritis.

The council said this meant the public was at an "imminent risk of injury to [their] health".

ABC added: "In addition, the general cleanliness of the store was unsatisfactory, there was no adequate food safety management system and the poor structure of the premises meant pests could easily enter the building."

Mr Baig admitted four charges:

• no adequate procedures in place to control pests, namely cockroaches
• a failure to protect food from contamination caused by pest entry and exit
• a failure to ensure that the premises was kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition
• not putting in place, implementing and maintaining a permanent procedure

Cllr Gerry Clarkson (Con), ABC leader, said: "It is absolutely vital that the strictest food hygiene standards prevail in our borough.

"Ashford Borough Council will always strive to ensure that the highest hygiene standards are maintained by food establishments for the health and wellbeing of our residents and visitors."