THIS is the shocking moment a group of greedy guzzlers ‘ordered £390 worth of steaks and carbonara refused to pay’.
CCTV footage showed the disgraceful party of men, woman and kids gorge on their feast at La Banca Italian restaurant in Selsey, West Sussex, before fleeing in an untaxed pick up truck.
Fuming restaurant owner Neil Kimber slammed the group of ten and hit out they “need to be named and shamed”.
“They said the food was rubbish and they weren’t paying before pulling out a wedge of about £1000 in cash and throwing down £60 after I said the drinks they had couldn’t have been rubbish,” he said.
“They knew what they were doing.”
The dine-and-dashers booked a table for eight on Saturday night, but two extra rocked-up.
This included six children and four adults, who all enjoyed Ragu and carbonara dishes.
“It’s ba***rds like you who will bring a small business like us down,” Neil continued.
“There are a lot of small business in Selsey like us which that could cripple.
“I’ve got a £400 bill from the butcher across the road.
“This table would have paid for that.”
The family owned restaurant was gobsmacked to watch the group target them.
“My partner saw the vehicle on the High Street,” the owner continued in disbelief.
“I checked the number plate and it’s not taxed.”
Unfortunately, according the proud business owner, “constant” dine-and-dashing is becoming “more and more common” in the area.
He added that shameless thieves have “taken advantage” or the “sleepy town”.
“We are a family restaurant and we value our reviews,” he said.
“All our food is spot on and made from local produce.”
Neil has reported the incident to police but said “there’s nothing they can do”.
He said while he doesn’t want to charge customers up front, the situation is worsening.
“These people need to be named and shamed,” fumed Neil.
It comes after a greedy family-of-eight were caught stuffing their faces with £329 worth of grub – only to leave without paying.
The shameless clan dined on T-bone steaks, over a dozen soft drinks, and delved into second helpings of dessert, when they visited the Bella Ciao Italian in Port Talbot near Swansea.
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and his wife Ann McDonagh, 39, were later pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud at Swansea Magistrates’ Court.
Elsewhere, one woman boasted of being the ‘most wanted’ dine-and-dasher, after allegedly cheating pubs and restaurants out of hundreds.
The serial offender has been caught on CCTV multiple times executing her plan as she hits venues in Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole.
Meanwhile, two men stuffed their faces with over £110 worth of food before fleeing a Vietnamese restaurant in a “perfect plan”.
They guzzled beer and gorged on spicy beef pho, rice and noodles for two hours at Viet80s in Nottingham.
Plus, one pub was ravaged by a ‘dine and dash’ family of 12, who dodged a bill of £260 – including a steak and ten pints.
And, watch the shocking moment a gang of pensioners appeared to distract staff to allegedly skip out on a £100 bill was caught on camera.
If a customer or group ‘dine-and-dash’, they could be charged under section 3 of the 1978 Theft Act.
This deals with people who eat out and leave without paying.
It is considered theft if there is a failure to pay when it is known that payment is required for goods or services.
The offence can carry a prison sentence of up to two years
