THE owner of a Longtown takeaway has said that he is 'thrilled' after being awarded a new five out of five food hygiene rating.

Koyes Uddin, or Kaz as he is known, has owned the Bangladeshi takeaway Spice Fusion on Longtown's Swan Street for 12 years, after previously working at The Viceroy in Carlisle.

For many years Kaz had operated the takeaway with the assistance of his wife. However, in the last 12 months he has taken on teenagers Callum, Bailey, and Taylor, who help take orders, serve customers, pack bags, and keep the takeaway in pristine condition.

After being awarded the new food hygiene rating, Kaz explained how the achievement belongs to his staff as much as it belongs to him.

He said: "For the last six or seven years it has been me and my wife who have been cooking but for the last year I have had the three boys working. They just finished school and they came looking for a job and the three of them have improved so much.

"The health officer came a couple of weeks ago and had a good look at everything and after a week we were awarded five out of five food hygiene.

"I keep telling the boys how proud I am because I had a feeling the health officer was going to come, and they were doing such a good job so when we got the rating even the boys were thrilled."

Business at Spice Fusion has fluctuated over the new year period. However, thanks to the dedication of his young staff members, Kaz has 'no worries' about the future of the takeaway.

"It's up and down, before Christmas it was okay but in January it went down a bit and you expect that this time of year, and then slowly things go up again.

"I am just glad to run a business and to do that you need staff. It is hard to find staff in Longtown but since I have found the boys I have had no worries at all."