A Norwich supermarket has been shut down on public health grounds after council officers discovered it was infested with rats and cockroaches.

A court, after hearing how bags of food at the Asian Bazaar in Magdalen Street had been gnawed through by rats and cockroaches which had infested the store, agreed yesterday to award Norwich City Council an emergency prohibition order to stop the shop from trading.

The order, served on supermarket owner Shaju Joseph, means the shop must remain closed to the public until it has been thoroughly deep cleaned by pest control experts to rid it of the infestations.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday how the city council’s environmental health officers had carried out a routine check on the shop. Yvonne Blake, seeking the prohibition order on behalf of the city council, said officers had discovered a rat and cockroach infestation.

The judge was shown photographs which were taken by council officers and Ms Blake said: “There were cockroaches on the wall and food bags had been gnawed. There had been attempts to poison the rats and cockroaches and dead cockroaches.”

There were also photographs of a rat running through the shop and bags of gnawed rice.

Mr Joseph, 52, of Jamieson Place, told the court that before the council inspection he had been aware he had a problem and had been trying to deal with it.

He said he was happy to fully co-operate with the council to get the supermarket cleaned up.

District judge Peter Veits told Mr Joseph: “I am going to have to make the prohibition notice and hopefully in the not too distant future you will be up and trading again.”