A RESTAURANT in Pickering was closed after five people were found to be working there illegally.

A team of officials from the UK Border Agency visited Lal Quila, on Eastgate in Pickering, on Wednesday night and arrested five Banglasdeshi men.

The team initially found four men - one who had overstayed his visa and another three who had entered the UK illegally. Another Bangladeshi man was discovered after a search of the building and arrested for being in the UK illegally.

The five men were taken to Scarborough police station for further questioning and the restaurant had to close because there were no staff left to run it.

The restaurant was served with a Notice of Potential Liability for employing illegal workers and, if it is unable to provide evidence that checks were carried out before giving the men jobs, it will face a fine of up to £10,000 per worker.

Steve Lamb, the UK Border Agency regional operations director, said: “We will not tolerate illegal working which threatens our communities and we will act on intelligence to target those businesses which ignore the rules.

“The UK Border Agency works with employers so they understand the rules, but they have a responsibility to carry out the right checks before they employ migrant workers.

“If they don’t, they could end up potentially having to pay the kind of substantial fines this Pickering business is now facing.”