October 25th 2025.
A Pizza Hut franchise owner has recently found himself in hot water after one of his restaurants was discovered to be infested with rats. The director, Alhassan Goussous, has been fined a hefty sum of over £39,000 for failing to properly control the pests in his establishment on Chingford Mount Road in Waltham Forest, London.
The incident came to light when a member of the public alerted inspectors, who promptly shut down the premises for further investigation. What they found was quite disturbing - the restaurant was crawling with rats and there were visible droppings scattered around. On top of that, the overall cleanliness of the place was not up to par and there were inadequate measures in place to prevent pests from entering.
Goussous's company, GH Pizzas Ltd, formerly known as MHAJ Pizza Ltd, operates a total of 24 Pizza Hut locations throughout the capital. According to company records, their annual revenue is an impressive £14.5 million. However, this particular branch was not the only one affected by Goussous's negligence. He also runs restaurants under other popular high street brands, such as Wendy's.
Despite the unfortunate incident, the Waltham Forest Pizza Hut has since reopened its doors in November of this year. However, their recent food standards rating of 3 out of 5, given during an inspection in June, shows that there is still room for improvement.
Goussous appeared in court on October 14 and pleaded guilty to failing to control pests. As a result, he was ordered to pay a fine of £23,500 and an additional £15,690 in costs within the next six months. Cllr Khevyn Limbajee, Waltham Forest's Cabinet Member for Community Safety, expressed his satisfaction with the closure of the store, which eliminated a potential threat to public health and safety. However, he also noted that it was unfortunate that the business was not able to address long-standing issues with cleanliness and pest control.
In the bustling city of London, news of this incident has caused quite a stir. Amidst the latest headlines, such as the existence of snail breeding farms in the city's most expensive buildings and unmissable deals for brunch and dessert at Kanishka, there is also talk of alternative Halloween events and how to stay updated with all the latest news in the capital via Metro's London news hub.
Cllr Khevyn Limbajee stresses the severity of this offense and the council's determination to send a message to other food business operators who neglect their responsibility to protect the public. With that said, Metro has been added as a preferred source on Google and readers are encouraged to leave their comments and opinions on this matter.
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