Moment 'dine and dash' family demolish fried breakfasts, sides and five cokes before fleeing café without paying bill
13 June 2024, 10:35 | Updated: 13 June 2024, 10:40
A family of 'dine and dashers' have been caught on camera ordering fried breakfasts and a host of sides before fleeing the cafe without paying the bill.
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The two adults were captured digging into the fry-ups, before ordering three plates of chips, five coca-colas and a milkshake with their two young children at Cafe No.35 in Canterbury, Kent, on Monday, June 10.
The establishment has now been forced to circulate the CCTV footage in an attempt to recoup the £60 bill.
The restaurant's owner, Anna Carpenter, 55, said that the male diner in question had made the waitress feel "uneasy" during the family's visit.
Regularly "peering inside" at the waitresses in the cafe, Ms Carpenter revealed the diner was waiting for an opportune moment to flee.
Explaining two young waitresses were working on the morning of the dine and dash incident, Ms Carpenter said the
"My waitress said she started to feel uneasy because the man would keep peering through the window looking inside the cafe," she explained.
Noting she does not blame the waitresses for the family fleeing without footing the bill, the owner highlighted the impact the rising number of dine and dashers have on independent businesses.
"So many venues have closed across the country and it is quite frightening the impact that all of these issues, certainly since the pandemic, have had on the industry," she said, speaking with Kent Online.
"We're just doing the best we can to stay in business so for somebody to steal from us hurts and affects all of the staff. It's really upsetting."
Despite being the first time the cafe was visited by dine and dashers, Ms Carpenter explained that the establishment had seen thieves steal the tip jar in recent months.
Just days ago dine and dashers were caught on CCTV fleeing a pub after wracking up a hefty £60 bill.
It comes as Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, labelled 'Britain's worst dine and dashers', were caught ordering a three-course meal, including T-bone steaks and desserts - even sending some items back to the kitchen - before fleeing without paying.
Appearing in Swansea Crown Court, the pair, of Sandfields, Port Talbot, Wales, were discovered to have used more than 40 aliases and 18 dates of birth between them.
They were found to have committed further dine and dashes at four restaurants and one takeaway in the south Wales area.
The court heard how the pair's unpaid bills totalled a staggering £1,168.10.
