FORMER pub landlord Ernest James Benbow poisoned 10 of his customers with his Sunday carvery, a court heard.

Benbow, 62, after a lifetime in the chemical industry, had sunk his life savings and pension into his dream of running his own pub.

But it all turned sour at The Potter’s Wheel in Buckley when 10 customers who ate at his carvery back in October 2005 became ill – two of them seriously.

It emerged Benbow had no training in food hygiene and no knowledge about catering on a large scale.

The pub business deteriorated, he was made bankrupt with debts of £64,000 and his marriage broke up. Now his daughter is seriously ill in hospital, Flintshire Magistrates Court heard.

It was stressed that Benbow, now of Ince Lane, Elton, is no longer associated with the Potter’s Wheel and the current proprietor is in no way linked with the prosecution.

Benbow, now living alone in rented accommodation and earning a casual wage as a golf club barman, admitted failing to comply with food safety regulations by selling food that was unsafe and a second charge of failing to have the required food hygiene training as a food handler.

Chris Moss, prosecuting for Flintshire County Council, said several people contacted the authority and complained of being ill after eating the carvery.

Out of a party of 17 the previous day, 12 had eaten the carvery and 10 became ill.

Two of the most seriously ill provided samples and the same bacteria – clostridium perfringens – was found in unacceptable levels in roast beef, cooked turkey and cooked gammon leftovers.

Mr Moss said the testing proved the food poisoning had come from the meat in the pub.

Defending, Pat Buckley said the case had been hanging over Benbow a long time.

That had a significant effect on his health and he had spent three months in hospital over the last year, and had been diagnosed with MRSA, which had blighted his health.

It was a tragic personal story as Benbow had spent 30 years in research and development in the chemical industry, had worked for Shell UK and after a life-time of hard work and raising his family, he invested his pension into the Potter’s Wheel in June 2004.

But by March 2006 the business had gone ‘spectacularly wrong’ and he was made bankrupt with debts of £64,000.

He was now living alone after his marriage ended and eight weeks ago he suffered another personal tragedy when his 29-year-old daughter became gravely ill and he visited her every day at Wrexham Hospital.

A conditional discharge was unusual but the bench felt it had no option in the circumstances.