OFFICIALS at Wimbledon have been criticised for letting pests invade the tennis club.

Health inspectors discovered “a lot of flies” in the cooking area of the tournament competitors’ kitchen.

Their report added: “In the members’ self-service restaurant the chef cooking burgers was using the same tongs to turn raw burgers and remove cooked ones. This creates a risk of cross contamination.”

It continued: “In the LTA president’s suite there was a large joint of seared beef which was running in blood and it was visually obvious the joint had not been seared all the way around.

“The takeaway sushi and vegetable coleslaw sampled were borderline enterobacteriaceae.

That is the family of bacteria which includes potentially deadly bugs including salmonella and E.Coli.The most recent report, filed by Merton Council during last summer’s tournament, also told how some staff were eating out-of-date sandwiches.