A magistrate has ordered a kebab house to close after it was accused of having dead rats and flies on the premises.

Golden Fried Chicken in Church Road, Hove, has been forced to shut while its owner Muharrem Kartal faces 43 charges of breaching food hygiene laws.

Chairman of magistrates Barney Miller said the bail condition was necessary to prevent further offences at a hearing at Brighton Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Brighton and Hove City Council alleges the food hygiene breaches occurred at the kebab house, also known as GFC, as food safety inspectors checked the premises.

Among the alleged breaches discovered during an inspection on November 13, 2017, the council accused Kartal of failing to ensure there were adequate procedures in place to control pests. They alleged the takeaway had dead rats in the cupboard under the stairs and dead and live flies in the basement corridor.

Kartal is also accused of failing to ensure food production was protected against contamination likely to render food unfit for human consumption. They allege unwrapped cheese slices were stored next to raw burgers so there was risk of cross contamination.

On an inspection on November 14, the council accuse him of failing to ensure equipment was effectively cleaned in that stalactites of fat were dripping from the cooking equipment.

On an inspection in January 2018 they allege the same charge in that raw meat kebabs and a worn green chopping board for salads had been used for cutting raw chicken.

Kartal, 52, of Church Road, Hove, indicated guilty pleas to all 43 charges under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 Act.

Magistrate Miller told Kartal when imposing bail conditions: “You must comply with the following condition. If you don’t you could be arrested and brought back to court.

“You are not to open or trade from Golden Fried Chicken, or to permit any other person to do so from that premises.”

Kartal has operated the takeaway, near Palmeira Square, since August 2002. It has a score on the door rating of zero, meaning the city council have deemed urgent improvement is necessary.

Kartal will reappear next month.