An “extremely dirty” Chinese takeaway that has been served up fines totalling £40,000 for stomach churning hygiene breaches.

And a judge has warned that anyone eating grub from the Sun Kee in Comber “does so at their own risk”.

Among the horrors found in the kitchens of the Bridge Street takeaway were “moulded cooked chicken balls” and food left to defrost by an open drain.

District judge Mark Hamill didn’t mince his words at Ards Magistrates’ Court last week when he dished out fines of £2,500 on each of 16 charges of breaching EC food safety regulations.

Mr Hamill pointed out that owner, Richard Yau, of Landsdowne Road, Newtownards had been previously fined more than £10,000 for 23 food hygiene offences.

Mr Yau, who was not in court, was also ordered to pay £1,874 costs this time.

A prosecutor told the court that a number of contraventions of food hygiene regulations were discovered during a routine re-inspection on January 2.

Five days later, Ards Borough Council environmental health officers found numerous breaches of hygiene regulations.

The Sun Kee — awarded just one star on Ards Council’s own Food Hygiene Rating Scheme — was labelled as “extremely dirty”.

Among the catalogue of hygiene horrors was:

• a container of moulded, cooked chicken balls found in the walk-in chill cabinet.
• containers of moulded batter
• food left to defrost beside an open drain
• dirty cloths used to wipe down food worktops
• an uncovered container of curry paste on the floor, under the sink
• unclean store walls, chill freezer and hot food cabinets.

Yesterday, the shutters on the red and green painted Sun Kee premises were firmly pulled down.

And a number of local people said that they had now lost their appetite for eating anything from it.

Paula Allen said: “I went down to it [last night] and saw that it was closed.

“It was only after my mother told me today that I heard what had happened.

“I am shocked and I probably wouldn’t eat anything from it now.”