Restaurant licence hearing over illegal workers

The Oak Tree was fined £90,000 for employing illegal workers

A restaurant fined £90,000 after immigration officials found four illegal workers there faces being stripped of its alcohol licence.

The Oak Tree Inn at Middleton St George, near Darlington, was raided last December by immigration officers and one worker tried to run from the kitchen.

Concerns were also raised about wages after one worker said he was paid £300 in cash a week, which would equate to £7.14 per hour based on the time he worked and fall well under the national minimum wage.

Darlington Borough Council will consider the restaurant's licence at a meeting on 11 September.

Ersim Aydin, who was in charge of employing staff, told police: "I don't normally ask for ID, I do ask if they're okay to work and nine out of ten I go with what they say."

The venue's owner, Punch Pubs, confirmed the pub has closed after Ms Aydin, who operated the venue under a tenancy agreement, left her role.

The organisation said: "As a valued part of both our estate and the Darlington community, ensuring the pub's long-term future is our top priority.

"We are continuing to work with licensing authorities and hope to provide an update to the community soon."

After the licensing review was announced, Ms Aydin said she was "so sorry" if she had caused distress, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"I gave all of myself to the pub and the people in it," she said.

"I never treated anyone like an employee or a customer – I treated them like family. Like human beings.

"To everyone who supported me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."