A pizzeria in the United Kingdom was shut down, after a family reportedly found a bug baked into their meal.
According to the Huffington Post, a 6-year-old boy sharing a meal with his family found a cockroach baked into the crust of his pizza (PHOTOS) on Aug. 12. According to some reports the roach was reportedly still squirming around within the crust.
The young boy and his father, a local funeral director, brought the pizza from a resturant in Leeds called Munchies, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. The family reported the eatery to authorities, who paid an unexpected visit to the pizzeria and found more than one insect tolling around.
According to the Huffington Post, several cockroaches were found scurrying inside pans and up the eatery's kitchen wall. The authorities reported dirt and grease build up in the food preparation area, that had been forming for years. Authorities also reported bags of moldy kebab meat on the floor, according to DeathAndTaxesMag.com.
Owner Matloob Hussain pleaded guilty to eight offenses related to his restaurant's cleanliness or lack thereof. He was fined $1,174.10 and ordered to pay $1,956.94 in court costs, according to the Daily Mail.
"Munchies took the idea of a stuffed crust pizza to a whole new level," said Leeds councilman Mark Dobson, according to the Daily Mail.
Munchies was shut down for a week so it could be cleaned and "debugged." It has since reopened, but Hussain is no longer involved. Hussain said the cockroach pizza incident, first reported in August 2012, happened before he took over, but his legal representation agreed with the court that the place was disgusting. The court fined Hussain on multiple charges related to not keeping a restaurant up to code and exceptionally poor food storage and preparation.
According to the Huffington Post, the allegations also hit Justice of Peace, Bill Baker, in the gut.
"What we've heard has been a stomach-churning horror story," he said, according to the Metro. "We're due to have lunch in three-quarters of an hour but I think we'll skip it."
