Two people rushed to hospital due to leak at Italian restaurant

Lethal carbon monoxide gas leaked from an Italian restaurant in Sale - resulting in two neighbouring residents being rushed to hospital, a council meeting heard. A ‘key safety feature’ on the cooker designed to shut down the gas supply if there was no flame had allegedly been bypassed, putting customers and staff in danger, Trafford’s licensing sub-committee was told.

Extraction ducting had also allegedly been redirected leaking poisonous gas into the air without planning permission, the meeting heard. The restaurant's boiler was also emitting dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, councillors were told. The panel of three councillors found the Linguine eatery on Northenden Road employed three staff who had no right to work in the UK.

Councillors revoked the premises licence of Nagmadin Zana, who told them he was no longer involved in the business and he would not therefore object. Immigration officers swooped on the premises in May this year, councillors heard. A woman clearing tables tried to flee before being arrested.

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Home Office checks showed she had been refused a visitor visa in August 2022, but had entered the UK in October 2023 and submitted a claim which is still under consideration, councillors were told.“ Her bail conditions clearly outline that she is not permitted to work in the UK,” Trafford council’s chief legal officer James Parry told the hearing.

“When questioned, she said she had been working as a waitress for three to four months for three days a week, for £50 a week. She was unsure whether any right-to-work checks had been conducted as she only worked in the kitchen.”

A month later, immigration officials returned and encountered a man working with the head chef who had entered the UK by a small boat, the panel was told. He had submitted a claim for asylum in August 2023 which was still under consideration, but his bail conditions also meant he was not allowed to work in the UK.

Similarly, officers encountered another man working behind the bar whose claim to stay in the UK was still pending, the meeting heard. “Although he denied working on the premises, it is considered that this was an attempt to deceive immigration officers as he was wearing front-of-house work attire,” Mr Parry said.

A year previously, in May 2023 fire officers had been called after a carbon monoxide alarm went off in the adjoining flat, the meeting was told. It was discovered that the source of the leak was the Linguine restaurant, and following this the gas supply was disconnected by Cadent, councillors heard.

The restaurant was closed down and it was later revealed that the extraction ducting had been allegedly redirected over the roof with the air discharging into the atmosphere, the panel heard. No planning permission had been sought or granted for the alteration, Mr Parry said.

Although the restaurant was later allowed to reopen it was later found the boiler and cooker were both ‘immediately dangerous’, councillors heard.

“The boiler was classed as such due to high carbon monoxide emission levels being detected whilst it was in use,” Mr Parry added. “The cooker was determined to be immediately dangerous as thermocouple safety devices had been bypassed."

“Thermocouples are an important safety feature as they are designed to prevent gas flow if there is no flame present. If gas flow is not prevented, then the risk from explosion increases from a build up of gas.

“Due to concerns identified, Cadent was contacted and Linguine Restaurant was disconnected from the mains gas supply again.” Later in May, Trafford’s environmental health officers received information that the cooker and boiler had both been replaced and the gas supply was restored.

Mr Parry said: "Although the defects were remedied, two people in the adjoining premises required emergency treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning at Wythenshawe Hospital. That matter has been referred for consideration of prosecution and there will be a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on October 18." That hearing does not relate to Mr Zana.

Coun Haughey told Mr Zana: “You have been actively engaged in exploiting those without the right to work in the United Kingdom for your own financial interests. This conduct is frequently linked to serious organised crime by trafficking such individuals and this conduct exposes vulnerable people to exploitation, which is unacceptable, and sometimes, as in this case, unsafe working practices.

“We also believe that as the premises licence holder you were engaged in violent conduct with a business partner on the premises in May 2023, and then frustrated the police investigation by failing to produce CCTV images and a list of the employees that were present.

“We also think, on the balance of probabilities, that the reason for this was that you were unable or unwilling to produce the names and addresses of those working on the premises because they hadn’t been properly registered or they had no right to work here. Furthermore, we think that the carbon monoxide poisoning which placed members of the public and your staff at severe risk and potential death is something that you could have avoided.

“We will be revoking your licence and we will also would like to ensure that any other licensing application for the same premises comes immediately to the licensing sub-committee for a decision.” Greater Manchester Police said Mr Zana has not faced criminal charges.