The owner of a mini supermarket from Accrington has been fined £4,500 after being caught selling out of date sandwiches for the second time.

Trading standards officers discovered Windsor Mini Market in Cross Lane, Salford not only put customers at risk with old food, but also its own staff with dangerous equipment.

Assistants in the shop were allowed to work with overloaded electrical sockets and burnt-out extensions leads, a court heard.

Business owner Haroon Mahmood of Monk Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty at Salford and Manchester magistrates to seven offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 including selling food past its use by date and failing to implement a documented food safety management system.

He also admitted one of failing to maintain electrical equipment in a safe condition contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. .

The court heard that an environmental health officer from Salford council visited the shop in February 2015 on a routine inspection.

He found the shop selling sandwiches beyond their use by date which put anyone eating them at serious risk of illness. The shop had been issued with a warning two years earlier about illegally selling food beyond its use by date.

Mr Mahmood could also not show he was managing food safety risks as required by law.

The officer warned Mr Mahmood of the dangers and that he must not sell out of date sandwiches but when he revisited the shop to check, he found the warning had been ignored.

Staff were using dangerous electrical equipment which exposed them to the risk of potentially fatal electric shocks.

When an officer visited on February 24 he found two packets of gammon steaks with a use by date of February 13, one pint of semi-skimmed milk, with a use by date of February 21, and a chicken and stuffing sandwich to be used by February 17 and a chicken tandoori sandwich dated February 23.

When he revisited three days later he found him selling one chicken and stuffing sandwich, with a use by date of February 24 and two packets of chicken tikka sandwiches with use by dates of February 25.

Mr Mahmood was fined a total of £2,150 for the offences, ordered to pay £2444 in costs and a victim surcharge of £71.

Speaking after the case, Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said: “The use by date on food is there to protect people and must not be ignored.

“We want to work with businesses and help them thrive in the city, but if they flout the law we will not hesitate to take action to protect the public and staff who work there. Safety is paramount.”