A RESTAURANT owner put a boy’s life at risk by serving him a dessert which contained nuts.

Stephen Nock was the managing director of Bright Ideas Studios Ltd, which previously ran Seasons Restaurant in Eastbourne.

But despite a mother telling restaurant staff that her son had a nut allergy, she was reassured that an ice cream she ordered did not contain nuts.

The ice cream did contain a chocolate hazelnut wafer, triggering an allergic reaction which led to the boy being taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital in May last year.

Trading Standards officers were called in and Nock was ordered to pay a £1,200 fine for breaching the Food Safety Act.

They found the restaurant’s menu did not state that the wafer contained nuts and had been served that way for some time.

At a hearing at Lewes Crown Court, Judge Christine Laing QC was told the restaurant did have some procedures in place to deal with allergies.

But on this occasion the team fell short of what was required, and officers also found that staff training

records were inadequate.

The boy’s mother, from Bexhill, was particularly concerned with the response from the restaurant staff.

Her son was not breathing properly and she had to administer an Epipen as she believed he was going into anaphylactic shock.

Nock, 61, of Bermuda Place in Eastbourne, admitted breaching the Food Safety Act. The restaurant is now under new management and has no connection to him.

East Sussex County Council lead member for safety Councillor Bill Bentley said even tiny amounts of an ingredient can lead to a potentially deadly allergic reaction. He said: “This case illustrates the serious responsibility food premises owners have when it comes to food safety.

“All food businesses have a legal duty to provide customers with clear and accurate, allergy information about the food they serve and must ensure staff are properly trained and have rigorous diligence procedures in place. This was an extremely traumatic experience for the boy and his mother, and we can only be thankful the outcome wasn’t even more serious.”

Nock was also ordered to pay £969 prosecution costs at the hearing earlier this month.