Police arrest man and woman after chasing serial 'dine and dashers' wanted over ... trends now
Police chasing a couple of serial 'dine and dashers' have today arrested man and a woman after a string of restaurants across south Wales claimed they had been the victims of 'food thefts' since last summer.
The suspects, aged 41 and 39, were arrested for fraud and theft offences in a dawn swoop on their home in Port Talbot and have been taken in for questioning at Swansea Police Station.
At least seven restaurants have claimed that a couple allegedly behind a 'dine and dash' racket have been ordering expensive menu items - typically steaks - before fleeing and leaving the bill unpaid.
CCTV footage exclusively obtained by MailOnline shows a woman leaving The Yard Pizzeria in Cowbridge, having allegedly built up a £151 tab with a group of six in March this year.
Emily Langford, the manager of the family-run restaurant the Yard, said each member of the group ordered starters, mains and two bottles of fizzy drinks each. Once they had finished, most of them allegedly left the premises, leaving the woman to settle the tab.
She allegedly came to the counter and tried to pay with her card, which was declined twice, before asking staff for the nearest cashpoint and disappearing out of sight after walking out the door.
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MARCH: CCTV footage shows the woman leaving The Yard Pizzeria in Cowbridge having allegedly built up a £151 tab with her partner whilst sat with a group of six
AUGUST 2023: The couple at the River House Lounge & Restaurant in Swansea
The Somerset Arms in Port Talbot, The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun, the Chilli Too Indian restaurant in Clydach, La Casona in Skewen, the Riverhouse Lounge and Restaurant in Swansea and The Yard in Cowbridge believe that they are all victims of the 'dine and dashers'
Ms Langford told MailOnline: 'They left the woman to pay. And she stood up and said 'Oh, is it okay? If I come to the bar to pay?' and we said that was fine.
'She was basically buttering me and my mum up and was saying lots of nice things to us. But as she put her card in it got declined. She was like 'oh that's weird' and it declined again.
'She said she would call her son and sort out a bank transfer, but we weren't comfortable with that and asked if she could pay in cash and showed her where the nearest cash point was.
'I showed her where it was and as I turned my head back through the door to tell my mum she was at the cash point, by the time I turned around again she was gone.'
This 'dine and dash' playbook has been allegedly deployed by the couple in each of the outlets they have hit in the last year.
Staff at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot say they were the latest victims of this heist when the couple sat with a group of eight in their restaurant on Friday night and allegedly left without paying the £329 bill.
CCTV footage from the restaurant showed the woman attempting to pay the bill with a savings account card, which was declined twice.
She allegedly told staff her son would wait inside while she went to get her 'other card', but she did not return and moments later the boy had also vanished from the premises.
FRIDAY: The couple with a large group at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot
