Gosport curry house is given new lease of life by new owner after damning food hygiene inspection

Jalal Uddin took over the site earlier this year after a hygiene inspection led to its closure in 2016.

The new owner and his team have spent £10,000 on the takeaway ripping out shelves, conducting a deep clean and installing new units.

Jalal said: ‘We opened in June and I have been inviting people to come through and see the kitchen. It is very clean now and it looks much, much better. People have been shocked at how much we have done and how good it looks. They are happy to eat here again.’

Former owner Mahmud Salam sold the premises to Mr Uddin who reopened the eaterie, on Carisbrooke Road, under the same name.

Jalal said: ‘We have worked on the toilet, kitchen and storage units. We have even replaced the flooring. When we got here everything was very sticky and dirty. It was a tough job to clean and we worked through most nights to get the place ready.’

‘My experience working in the takeaway industry has helped things to run smoothly. All of the staff are new and fully trained and we’re excited to provide local people with delicious food.’

The Lime Tree was inspected by officers from Gosport Borough Council in 2015 and 2016. The hygiene inspectors found filthy conditions including chicken soaking in a sink, food stored on the floor, a bucket filled with used toilet paper and people living in the takeaway store room.

Former owner Salam was prosecuted and fined by Gosport Borough Council for food safety offences after the December 2015 visit and February 2016 re-inspection.

Jalal is hoping that more members of the public will come in to see the takeaway’s big transformation.

Jalal said: ‘I want to express just how clean and different the space looks now. We have worked very hard on it. We want to get more involved in the community and will be holding a charity event soon so ask people to check our Facebook page for updates and news. If anybody wants to come down and take a look, be our guest.’