Britain's worst dine and dash couple plead guilty to dodging over £1,000 of bills in spree across restaurants in Wales

8 May 2024, 11:50 | Updated: 8 May 2024, 14:37

A serial 'dine and dash' couple have admitted bailing on bills worth hundreds of pounds in restaurants across south Wales.

Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, both from Port Talbot, just east of Swansea, were charged with five counts of fraud and four counts of theft related to shoplifting.

The pair pleaded guilty at Swansea Magistrates' Court this morning and will appear for sentencing on May 29.

South Wales Police charged the couple last month over a series of dine and dash incidents across south Wales.

The McDonaghs failed to pay £1,168.10 from five restaurants in South Wales.

Read more: Man and woman charged with fraud after dine-and-dashers 'left £329 bill unpaid at restaurant'

Read more: Britain's worst dine-and-dash couple? Family who ‘left without paying £329 bill’ have been ‘doing runners for months’

Ann McDonagh also admitted shoplifting a total of £1,017.60 from shops Tommy Hilfiger, Sainsbury and Tesco.

Leaving a restaurant without paying the bill is a criminal offence. Anyone found guilty could be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

It comes after the Bella Ciao restaurant near Port Talbot said a family of eight fled before paying for their meal.

They were said to have ordered steaks, desserts and 15 bottles of fizzy drinks - but sent back several half-eaten plates of food.

Several other restaurants in the area have also claimed that members of the same family have left without paying huge bills, according to MailOnline.

In August last year, the River House Lounge & Restaurant - also in Wales - posted CCTV images of the same man and woman, claiming they had 'left without paying' their 'hefty bill'.

Meanwhile, La Casona, in Skewen, said it had reported the same family to the police after they were seen 'leaving without paying' in February.

The Somerset Arms in Port Talbot and The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun also claim they have been targeted in recent months.