A FILTHY bakery has been fined a staggering £150,000 for using a tennis racket to mash potatoes.
Council inspectors discovered the racket covered in mash when they visited the premises in Enfield, north London.
Doce Bakers and Sweet Mahal, which shared the same premises, had an ongoing pest problem and filthy floors and equipment.
Enfield Council officers first visited the business in Edmonton, north London, last January.
But when they returned in July they found hygiene standards had fallen even lower than before.
They were shocked to find a filthy, potato-covered tennis racket in a bowl of boiled spuds.
It is believed staff rested the racket on top of the bowl and mashed the potatoes by pushing them through the strings - or even grating them into the bowl.
Sweet Mahal company director Rana Ahmed and Doce Bakers director Nizakat Ali have now been fined £152,823 at Highbury Magistrates Court.
The shops were jointly used to manufacture desserts, sweets, bakery goods and samosas.
Enfield Council's cabinet member for environment, Cllr Daniel Anderson, said: "Enfield Council has a duty to protect our residents and we won't hesitate to act wherever and whenever necessary to protect them against any risk to their health.
"We take a dim view of any food outlets whose premises aren't kept in a hygienic state for the manufacture of food.
"Our residents have the right to expect the food they buy to be safe to eat."
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