A kebab shop has been fined more than �2,600 for poor food hygiene standards.

Crystal Restaurant, in Holloway Road, Holloway, is well-regarded in Islington for its Turkish cuisine, but was found in breach of eight sanitation offences, including lack of hand washing materials, failing to comply with a hygiene improvement notice, not protecting food from contamination and not keeping food in the fridge.

Cebrail Imrek, owner and manager of the restaurant, which was rated one out of five for hygiene after an inspection last year, pleaded guilty to eight breaches of food hygiene regulations at Highbury Magistrates’ Court.

In sentencing, District Judge Henderson said Islington Council had “given Mr Imrek the opportunity to put things right on more than one occasion, but this was not done”.

In a separate prosecution, the EDA food centre in Hornsey Road, Upper Holloway, was fined more than �2,700 for selling out of date packets of meat, despite previous warnings to stop.

Both cases were heard at Highbury Magistrates court on April 14.

Councillor Paul Smith, Islington Council’s executive member for environment, said: “We would always much rather help local businesses than take them to court, but in both these cases our officers’ advice had been ignored and we had little choice.”