The owners of a popular restaurant have been fined £6,000 for running a greasy and unhygienic kitchen.

Piccolo Restaurant in Brighton stored raw meat next to pasta in fridges and its chefs' hand basins had no soap or running water, Brighton Magistrates Court heard.

Environmental health officers also found a tin opener with dried food on the blade, windowsills caked with dust and grease and fridges and freezers "in disrepair".

Len Batten, prosecuting for Brighton and Hove City Council, said environmental health officers had carried out a routine inspection of the Ship Street restaurant on January 28.

Mr Batten said: "The cleanliness in the pot washing area was very poor. The windowsill was dirty with grease, dust and food."

He added: "The walk-in fridge had uncovered lasagnes stacked on top of one another. And raw meat was stored next to pasta, above salad foods."

Mr Batten said some of the ceiling tiles were missing and dislodged, which could have lead to them shedding debris.

Emma Edhem, defending, said brothers Farshad and Farshid Nasipour, who run the restaurant, had worked to rectify the matters after the visit from the officers.

She said: "This has been a learning curve for them. It has been an embarrassing situation. It is a restaurant frequented by people from all over the area."

The brothers have run the restaurant for 14 years and have never had a complaint from environmental health before.

Ms Edhem added the brothers had done their best to make the conditions right.

Farshad Nasipour, 38, of Palmeira Square, Hove, and Farshid Nasipour, 40, of Barrowfield Drive, Hove, were charged with nine offences each in breach of food safety and hygiene regulations. They pleaded guilty to five charges. The other four were dropped.

They were fined £3,000 each plus £950 each for costs.

The brothers chose not to comment.