A HIGH street restaurant chain has been fined £40,000 for misleading customers by selling a lobster dish that was made largely of white fish.

ASK Italian, which has several restaurants across Sussex, described its £14.95 Aragosta e Gamberoni dish as "lobster and king prawns in a creamy tomato sauce with a hint of chilli".

But a Trading Standards inspection revealed the dish contained just 70p worth of lobster, which only accounted for 35 per cent of the dish.

Inspectors found 34 per cent of the meal was a mix of white fish called surimi, which is often used to make crab sticks, and was styled to look and taste like lobster.

Azzuri Restaurants Limited, which trades as ASK Italian, was fined £40,000 after admitting misleadingly describing food at Swansea Magistrates Court, the Daily Mail reported.

The dish has been removed from all menus.