A fish and chip takeaway in Powys has been fined £5,000 for employing a failed asylum seeker. UK Border Agency officers targeted The Quality Fish Bar.

The shop, in Waterloo Road, Llandrindod Wells, has become the first business in the region to receive a civil penalty under new rules targeting employers who hire immigration offenders.

The chip shop was raided on August 6 last year following a tip-off about illegal immigrants working there.

Following checks on staff, a 45-year-old Indian man was found to be a failed asylum seeker who had stayed illegally in the UK, instead of leaving the county once his claim for international protection was turned down.

He was arrested and taken to Newtown police station for further questioning and was later deported.

Immigration officers issued the takeaway with an on-the-spot notice, warning the employer he may receive a fine unless proof was provided that the necessary document checks were carried out before giving the man a job. No evidence was provided and the employer has now been given a £5,000 civil penalty fine.

Jane Farleigh, UK Border Agency for Wales and the South West regional director, said: “Employers are responsible for making sure their staff from outside Europe have the right to work here. This fine, the first handed to an employer in Powys, shows how seriously we are taking the problem of illegal working.

“Where we find people have no legal right to live or work in the UK, my teams will arrest them and remove them from the country.

“However, it is also important we deal with employers because as long as there are illegal jobs available, illegal immigrants will be tempted to come to the UK.”

The Quality Fish Bar declined to comment.