A PROTEST is being held today against a Jamaican fast food outlet being closed down by the council.

Customers have been waving placards outside Bamboo Joint in Leytonstone High Road since 11am this morning, with the words, “Caribbean food is not junk” and “There are no kebabs here”.

The protest was arranged after the council served a notice of closure on Monday.

It was the first outlet in the borough to be closed on the grounds the family-run business broke new council rules which ban fast food outlets from opening near schools, parks and leisure centres.

Co-owner Kenneate Findley, 30, said: “The first I knew about it was when they arrived with police and the national media. We didn’t have any warning.

“We are here to make money, but also we have a nice community mostly of people from the Caribbean and it is about caring for each other too.”

The owners and customers dispute that the food served constitutes the high-calorie fast food which the council is trying to stamp out to tackle obesity.

The menu consists of West Indian food such as jerk chicken, rice, salads and vegan or ital food catering for Rastafarians.

One customer, Valerie Lestrade, 50, said: “They sell authentic Caribbean food. It is not junk and it takes ages to prepare using fresh ingredients.

“I am angry and a lot of people are angry because we feel it is political.”

More than 100 signatures have been collected for a petition against the closure, to be handed in to the council.

Bamboo Joint is within the exclusion zones around Tom Hood Secondary School, Mayville Primary School and Langthorne Park.