A couple from south Wales have admitted carrying out a string of “dine and dash” offences, racking up large bills for food and drink before leaving without paying.
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, from Port Talbot, admitted five joint charges of fraud and will be sentenced at Swansea crown court this month.
The pair dishonestly obtained food and drink for themselves and their family at four restaurants and one takeaway in south Wales with the unpaid bills totalling more than £1,000.
It began in August last year when they defrauded the River House on the waterfront in Swansea of £267 of food and drink.
The restaurant said that the couple, after running up a “very hefty bill”, promised to get money from a nearby cash point when their card was declined, but never returned.
Speaking after the case, a spokesperson for the restaurant said: “We are delighted to hear justice has, at last, caught up with the pair. We are grateful to the public who have not only been a huge help in tracking down these criminals, but also for their huge amount of support.”
The McDonaghs next targeted the Golden Fortune takeaway in Port Talbot, taking £99 of food and drink without paying in January.
The next month they enjoyed £277 of meals from La Casona restaurant in Skewen, which serves Spanish and Italian food, and in March ate £196 of food and drink from Isabella’s brasserie in Porthcawl, both without paying.
Their final offence took place on 19 April, when they ate £329 of food – including T-bone steaks and double dessert portions – then left without paying the bill at the newly opened Bella Ciao in Swansea.
In a post on Facebook at the time, Bella Ciao described how a woman tried to pay with a savings account card, which was declined twice. She then left but her relative stayed behind. He left soon after, following a phone call.
Bella Ciao said the family had given a fake number to reserve a table at the restaurant. “To do this to anyone is disgusting but to do this to a newly open restaurant is even worse,” they wrote.
Both defendants covered their faces as they arrived at Swansea magistrates court. Ann McDonagh also admitted four counts of shoplifting, including at a designer store, taking items worth £1,017.
