THE owner of a well-known restaurant has been fined for breaching fire safety regulations.

James Hore

THE owner of a well-known restaurant has been fined for breaching fire safety regulations.

Minar Miah, who owns The Mogul in Manningtree, allowed employees to sleep above the premises without ensuring there was adequate fire safety measures in place.

But last night he told the EADT he had carried out nearly all the requirements and said he believed the problem centred on just one door between the restaurant and the accommodation area.

Miah, of South Street, Manningtree appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court after concerns were raised by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

It was only the second time the service has successfully prosecuted a restaurant owner for a breach of one of its prohibition notices, designed to improve safety.

Miah pleaded guilty when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

He was fined £1,400 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £9,000.

Roy Carter, head of legal services at Essex fire service said: “Prohibition Notices are a serious matter, issued to remove the risk to life, should fire occur.

“Failure to comply with such a notice will always attract the possibility of prosecution.

“In this instance, the restaurant owner was allowing employees to sleep above the premises, putting them in danger.

“Due to unsatisfactory fire prevention measures loss of life may have resulted had a fire occurred.”

The restaurant is well-known after hitting the headlines locally and nationally when customers from as far away as America ordered take-away.

Only this month, its sister restaurant, the Bollywood Inn, Colchester, sent a special delivery to a film crew in America which has been working on the new James Bond movie.

Miah said: “I am very unhappy with these people. There is new legislation and when they came to visit for the first time they did not tell me what I needed to do.

“Everything was there in place, like fire extinguishers, except for the alarms. I had 99% of the jobs done, but they never advised me of anything.

“It was a problem with one door between the restaurant and the flat.”