Moment crooked dine-and-dash lawyer struck off over string of food thefts is ... trends now
This is the moment a lawyer turned serial dine-and-dasher is confronted by customers and staff inside a pub after she and her husband tried to dodge paying the £62 bill for their Sunday roast.
Disgraced solicitor Kerry Ann Stevens was struck off after she was convicted for a string of food thefts at multiple establishments from 2021 to 2023.
In footage obtained by MailOnline, Stevens and her husband Daniel Alani are seen trying to leave the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, Essex, without paying for the two-course Sunday lunch that they ate.
In dramatic scenes recorded on a mobile phone, staff and customers could be seen preventing them from leaving until police arrived after the pair were recognised by locals.
But no action was taken after the owner decided it wasn't worth pursuing them through court for the money.
Crooked Kerry Ann Stevens and her partner Daniel Alani tried to skip paying a £62 bill in a pub near their home but were recognised by locals
Kerry Ann Stevens has been struck off and prohibited from practising as a solicitor due to a string of food thefts
In dramatic scenes recorded on a mobile phone, staff and customers could be seen preventing them from leaving until police arrived after the pair were recognised by locals
A string of local restaurant owners and taxi drivers have since come forward to claim the couple have also dodged payments but get away with it because the sums are too small to warrant legal action.
The latest incident happened on Sunday at the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, near Southend in Essex, where the pair tucked into a prawn cocktail, breaded mushrooms and two roast chicken mains with extra lamb on the side.
They washed it down with two cokes, an orange juice and a glass of pino grigio wine before getting up to leave without paying.
Landlord Ken Todd, 76, said: 'A waitress pointed out to me that they were people that had done a runner from other places when they sat down.
'We decided to keep an eye on the pair and, sure enough, they tried to leave multiple times by various routes.
'The woman said her father would pay – but that he was in hospital with his grandson. When we asked why they didn't have any money, they didn't give any answer at all – they just sat there.'
A string of local restaurant owners and taxi drivers have since come forward to claim the couple have also dodged payments but get away with it because the sums are too small to warrant legal action
He added: 'Other customers helped my staff to stop them leaving. The man was being very loud and it became a heated situation.
'We kept them talking for a good hour and some people accused them of being serial offenders. The customers blocked the entrance and were checking who was coming in and going out.
'The man tried to leave through the back door of the pub, which I had already locked, and apparently the woman tried to escape by the bathroom window.
'It was a very stressful situation and it was difficult trying to deal with both at the same time. We're lucky it was £60 and not £300.'
Footage shows bearded Alani in a black polo top and blue trousers and Stevens in a white jumper arguing with staff at the 17th century pub.
At one point she can be seen trying to push past a member of staff while clutching her bag and shoves him as he tried to direct her back to the table.
Police arrived and took the couple's details but eventually let them go when Mr Todd agreed it wouldn't be worth pursuing them in court for the sum involved.
At one point Stevens can be seen trying to push past a member of staff while clutching her bag and shoves him as he tried to direct her back to the table
Locals put photos of the couple on the Southend Crimewatch Facebook page, prompting a taxi driver to upload
