PIZZA Hut has been hauled into court and landed with a £6,331 bill because of the dirty state of its Trostre restaurant.

Magistrates in Llanelli heard that the popular outlet had a build-up of dirt and debris on the floor, while walls and doors were smeared with tomato and chocolate sauces.

The company pleaded guilty to an offence of failing to ensure the premises was kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition. It blamed local managers for the problems.

Lee Reynolds, prosecuting for Carmarthenshire Council, said the threshold was dirty, the ceiling tiles were marked and the door leading to the kitchen was splashed with food and dirty.

The door from the washing-up area to the restaurant was smeared and appeared to have chocolate sauce on it.

Mr Reynolds said: "Regarding the food preparation area, various items were dusty and dirty. The wall opposite the oven was splashed with what appeared to be tomato-based sauce.

"There was a considerable amount of food debris, a considerable amount of dirt and a considerable amount of dust.

"The conditions were not suitable for the proper preparation of food.

"As to whether or not there was any specific risk to users of Pizza Hut, the prosecution says that where premises are not clean, there is always a health risk. It is a general risk. The prosecution is not saying that there was a specific, identifiable risk."

The unannounced inspection was undertaken by two council environmental health officers on Valentine's Day this year.

A second inspection, after contacting the company showed most of the matters had been dealt with. Council officers had contacted Pizza Hut on a number of earlier occasions over concerns about the management of the restaurant, the court heard.

The offence committed by Pizza Hut UK breached European Food Regulations.

Dale Collins, for Pizza Hut, told the hearing that customers' health had not been put at risk and that food had not come into contact with any of the dirty surfaces.

It was not a failure at company level but a local issue which was being resolved, he said.

Mr Collins said: "The company relies to a great extent on its local management to ensure that the procedures in place are applied.

"When this failure came to light, the company conducted its own investigation and took steps to ensure it will not happen again. Retraining was undertaken by all staff.

"Management team retraining was undertaken because it was accepted that the fault was at management level."

Pizza Hut was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £3,831.70.

After the hearing the council's executive board member for housing and public protection Hugh Evans said: "High standards of cleanliness are vital for premises where food is prepared, and the council will prosecute when companies fall below these standards.

"The level of fine shows that the court took this matter seriously."

A Pizza Hut spokesman added: "We would like to reassure our customers that this was an isolated incident which occurred over nine months ago.

"Importantly, it did not relate to food safety and staff have since been retrained to ensure our high standards are met."