Staff member at top restaurant arrested in bullying row

A former chef at the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome, near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, claimed he saw another worker being punished by having his head dunked in a vat of lukewarm broccoli and Stilton soup.

The ex-employee, who is now working at another restaurant in North Yorkshire, also claims his trousers were set alight, and, in another incident, that he was stung on the back of his neck with nettles while making a nettle risotto.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed yesterday two men aged 19 and 23 had made allegations of assault following incidents at a business premises in Harome.

A force spokeswoman confirmed a 26-year-old man from the Helmsley area had been arrested over the allegations dating back to April. He has been released on bail.

The business is run by Jacquie Pern with her husband and head chef, Andrew, and she maintained he was unaware of any such allegations. She was adamant that bullying would not be tolerated at the Star Inn.

She said many of the 90 full and part-time staff were yesterday "in shock" over the claims and added: "Unfortunately, we received only a short telephone call from the police some weeks ago and our knowledge of the allegations is extremely limited.

"However, we can confirm that we have conducted internal inquiries and are dealing with the matter in accordance with our employment procedures."

The allegations are the latest blow to the restaurant, which was forced to close for several days in November last year after more than 80 diners became ill in a food poisoning alert.