The former owner of Stumpy’s Shack restaurant and takeaway in Wolverton has been sentenced following a joint investigation by MK Council and Thames Valley Police in 2018.
New City Holdings MK Ltd and company director Mr Stuart Atkinson appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday 2nd July following offences that were discovered in 2018.
A joint inspection of Stumpy’s Shack on 9 November 2018 by MK Council and Thames Valley Police found high levels of cocaine on food preparation surfaces, as well as animal urine on the kitchen floor left by an unattended dog.
Stumpy's Shack restaurant was then immediately closed on a temporary basis by MK Council's Environmental Health Officers who then sought a full prosecution.
Appearing at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday, the owner was banned indefinitely from being involved in the running of a food business.
Atkinson was also sentenced to an 18-month community order, 60 hours of unpaid work, a 19-day Thinking Skills programme, and his company New City Holdings MK Ltd ordered to pay a £4,000 fine.
This prosecution comes a year after a man was "humiliated" on social media by the company after he complained about his "awful" burger - called the Homer Simpson burger.
Stumpy's Shack posted pictures of the customer on their business Facebook page, which has now been deleted. The post read: "Does he look like he that picky about his food apparently don’t like the Homer Simpson burger".
The customer had reported Stumpy's Shack to Trading Standards, and just one month later, the takeaway was forced to temporarily close due to cocaine precense in the kitchen.
Councillor Paul Trendall, MK Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Environmental Health said: “I’m grateful to Council colleagues and our partners at Thames Valley Police for their work during this investigation.
"This has been an unsettling case and I’m glad that’s it’s now been resolved, and the offender brought to justice.”
