A restaurant run by one of the area’s top chefs has been given advice over food safety after a major salmonella scare involving a funeral buffet.

Two elderly guests who ate the buffet at The Bridge in Fenny Stratford ended up in hospital and another two guests were unwell. One of them, an 85-year-old man, was so ill he missed his own Diamond Wedding celebration.

This week, following a six month investigation into the restaurant, council environmental health chiefs have announced they will not be taking owner Tony O’Reilly to court — because there was not enough evidence to link the highly infectious salmonella bug with his premises. Instead, they have written to Mr O’Reilly to list a number of required improvements. It is believed the biggest concern relates to potential cross contamination of food.

The possibility of prosecution had been considered but neither the council lawyers nor the Health Protection Agency felt the case was strong enough to go to court.