A WIDOWER has told how he suffers from a serious gastric infection 16 months after eating a kebab from a takeaway that gave more than 50 customers food poisoning.

John Inglesby, 76, was struck down with severe diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and sweats after munching the chicken sheesh with salad bought from the Marmaris Kebab House in Abergavenny.

A stool sample confirmed he was one of the scores of customers who had contracted shigella bacteria from the premises, and he is now taking legal action.

The intestinal infection is extremely contagious, and someone may contract shigella if they eat food prepared by someone who has it and didn't wash their hands, for example.

The outbreak happened in February 2023 when customers ate contaminated food from the takeaway and saw 11 people hospitalised.

Owners Sami Abdullah and Hassan Saritag pleaded guilty to placing unsafe food on the market, failing to put in place food safety procedures, and failing to register new owners at the business last month.

John had visited the kebab shop on February 10, 2023, after he returned to work following the death of his wife.

He was prescribed a dose of antibiotics to help his recovery, but a year on he says he's still suffering from ongoing gastric complications.

John says: “When I went back to work, I was still struggling with grief and decided to visit my regular kebab shop.

“I’m not one to get stomach aches, so when I started to feel unwell, I knew something wasn’t right.

“It worsened very quickly and before long I was in and out of the bathroom every 10 minutes.

“It got so bad that I had to see the doctor, and at that point I was told I had an infection.

“I didn’t really piece it all together, however, until I heard that other people had been ill after going to the kebab shop.

“To this day, I’m still not right. It’s truly awful how many people have been affected and something needs to be done to stop it happening again.”

Sarita Sharma, the specialist public health lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing John, said the effects of the illness should not be downplayed.

She said: “The first-hand account we’ve heard from John regarding his symptoms is deeply concerning, and to hear that more than 50 people were unwell after eating at the kebab house is shocking.

“Shigella is a highly contagious infection leading to gastrointestinal illness, the effects of which should never be downplayed as it can, in some cases such as John’s, lead to long-term health issues.

“John’s story is likely to be typical of others reported to Public Health Wales and, following the guilty pleas, it’s vital that lessons are learned going forward to keep customers safe.”

Abdullah and Saritag are set to be sentenced in September at Newport Magistrates Court.

This followed a case brought by Monmouthshire County Council and Public Health Wales, which outlined a link between the shop's food and instances of Shigella.

Saritag, 38, of Cross Street in Abergavenny, and Abdullah, 46, of Richmond Road in Cwmbran, were told off by district judge Sophie Toms for speaking in the dock during their court appearance in May.

But it then emerged Saritag had been translating so his fellow defendant could understand what was being said in court.

A Monmouthshire Council spokesperson said after the hearing and guilty pleas: ““Prosecution is a last resort but will always be considered when serious breaches of legislation are discovered.

“This case also highlights the importance of keeping in contact with the food safety team to get the appropriate advice.”