A KEBAB takeaway has been issued with a £19,000 fine after an undercooked chicken wrap made a customer sick.

Branos in Rose Hill was found to have served the undercooked wrap in May last year. Empireline Ltd, which owns the restaurant, was fined £19,200 last week after pleading guilty to four offences.

The chicken was checked by experts who confirmed it was undercooked and unsatisfactory for consumption.

Oxford City Council’s environmental health officers carried out an inspection, issuing the restaurant with a one-star rating and ordering urgent improvements be made.

Inspectors also found a lack of safe systems for cooking chicken and said staff were not appropriately trained in food hygiene.

Four hygiene improvement notices were issued which can bring about a fine or imprisonment if not dealt with immediately.

A follow up inspection revealed three of the four improvement notices had not been complied with and a court case ensued.

Magistrates said there had been a ‘flagrant disregard of the food regulations putting customers at risk’ and issued a £15,000 fine and £4,200 costs against the company.

Oxford City Council warned that the undercooked chicken could have caused severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

City councillor Alex Hollingsworth, board member for planning and regulatory services, said: “The courts have sent out a strong signal to food businesses that poor standards of food safety are totally unacceptable. Our Environmental Health Team work with businesses to encourage compliance, but they will not hesitate to take strong action when businesses fail in their duty to keep consumers safe.”