A MAN has gone on trial accused of allowing shisha smoking on his premises and putting people at risk by a chiminea being used in a kitchen.

At Bolton Magistrates' Court Zahid Bangi, director of the Bon Bon cafe on Derby Street, Bolton, has pleaded not guilty to offences under the Health Act 2006 and Heath and Safety at Work Act 1974.

District Judge Mark Hadfield heard evidence from Bolton Council officer Leanne Richardson about how she visited the premises in 2018 and 2019, entering the building through a rear door and found people using shisha equipment inside the enclosed rooms and, on two occasions a lit chiminea, suitable only for use outdoors, in the kitchen area.

The front cafe area was unoccupied and the shutters onto Derby Street were pulled down. Miss Richardson told how she identified Bangi, aged 37, of Blackburn Road, Bolton as the person in charge.

However, Bangi, while admitting that he ran Bon Bon at the front of the building, insisted that the rear rooms of the property, where the shisha smoking was taking place, were not his responsibility and had been leased to someone else.

The trial continues.