Takeaways face fines over illegal workers

UK Border Agency officers found three people working unlawfully when they swooped on the businesses in Thirsk and Ripon. They arrested a 29-year-old Egyptian man at Tele Pizza, in Market Place, Thirsk, who faces deportation after it emerged he had entered the country illegally.

One of his colleagues was a 19-year-old failed asylum seeker from Palestine who did not have permission to work and was sacked on the spot. At Zorro Pizza, in Kirkgate, Ripon, officers found a 31-year-old Egyptian man behind the counter.

He was dismissed after it was found he had overstayed his visa and did not have the right to work in the UK.

The businesses face fines of up to 10,000 for each offender if they cannot show they carried out checks before employing them.