Police have released CCTV footage of a ‘dine and dash’ couple accused of skipping an £80 restaurant bill using a ‘handbag trick’.
The team at La Dolce Vita in East Kilbride, Scotland have shared CCTV footage of the pair who they claim left without paying.
CCTV show the man and woman outside smoking a cigarette before walking off separately on Sunday, October 20.
According to the eatery, the couple had racked up a £80 tab at the Italian restaurant, including two starters, three mains and two desserts before ‘nipping out for a cigarette’ and running off without paying.
Restaurant bosses said the woman left a handbag in an attempt to trick staff into thinking they would return.
The black bag was left ditched in their booth – but staff later discovered it was completely empty.
A restaurant spokesperson said they were ‘angry and annoyed’ with the situation.
CCTV captured a man and a woman outside smoking a cigarette before walking off separately on Sunday, October 20
A restaurant spokesperson said they were ‘angry and annoyed’ with the situation
Police Scotland said: ‘Around 5.45pm on Sunday, October 20, police received a report of a theft from a premises in the Main Street area of East Kilbride.
‘Enquiries into the circumstances are at an early stage.’
It comes after a spate of ‘dine and dash’ incidents in recent months.
According to UK Hospitality – the trade body for hospitality businesses in the UK – a third of operators had recently experienced an incident of dine and dash.
Of those affected, 29% said the frequency of incidents had increased compared with the previous year.
Tony Sophoclides, UK Hospitality strategic affairs director, told the BBC walking out of restaurants without paying was unacceptable and showed ‘a complete lack of respect’.
He said the rise in the number of incidents was probably linked to the cost-of-living crisis.
Last month, a mother admitted to performing a ‘dine and dash’ at a Wagamama restaurant after she refused to pay over claims there was a hair in her food.
Rosemary McDonagh was in a branch of the restaurant with friends in Ashford, Kent, when they were handed a £277 bill to pay.
A court heard that McDonagh complained about the food before leaving without footing the large bill.
Rosemary McDonagh (pictured) was in a branch of the restaurant with friends in Ashford, Kent, when they were handed a £277 bill to pay. A court heard that McDonagh complained about the food before leaving without footing the large bill
Wagamama restaurant in Ashford where McDonagh left without footing her bill. McDonagh refused to pay over allegation there was a hair in her food
The mother-of-two was arrested on Tuesday September 10 and later pleaded guilty to the ‘dine and dash’ offence at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court.
Meanwhile, a restaurant owner last month said a dine and dash epidemic will force him to close after he claimed a group of ten left in a pickup truck without paying.
The group, which included men, women and children, is said to have consumed £390 worth of food before refusing to pay and leaving in an untaxed pickup truck.
‘These people need to be named and shamed,’ said Neil Kimber, the owner of La Banca, an Italian restaurant in Selsey, West Sussex.
‘They said the food was rubbish and they weren’t paying before pulling out a wedge of about £1,000 in cash and throwing down £60 after I said the drinks they had couldn’t have been rubbish.
‘It’s getting more and more common down here,’ Mr Kimber said.
