Cops investigating claim group of 12 'left restaurant without paying £400 bill'
A group of four women and eight kids have been accused of gorging on £400 worth of food and drink at an Italian restaurant before walking out without paying.
La Bella Vista in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex shared images on Facebook of the shameless diners in a bid to trace them and warn other small businesses of their behaviour. They dined on a variety of starters, roast beef, which the restaurant serves as a Sunday special, and a selection of pasta before getting up and walking out of the premises. A bill provided to the Mirror by the restaurant shows £425.38 outstanding.
Police told The Mirror that they are investigating.
Staff were able to corner one of the women and shut the restaurant doors until police arrived. It is believed she was then frogmarched to a cash machine and handed the restaurant boss "all she had" - £60 - to cover the £400 bill on Sunday afternoon. Footage seen by The Mirror shows the group loitering by the restaurant's door after police arrived.
The group had allegedly pretended to find something in their meals and complained to staff, to request a cut on their bill. Aldo Esposito, one of the owners, told the Mirror: "It was a very traumatic situation for us. There were four ladies and eight children, and they had enjoyed their food until they pretended they had found something in the food. This was about halfway through the meal but they carried on eating."
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The four women took eight children to the restaurant and allegedly gorged on £400 worth of food and drink, including a selection of pastas (La Bella Vista / facebook)Mr Esposito added: "I have never seen anything like it. It was disgraceful. They weren't watching the kids, who were causing havoc. They were screaming and shouting and the ladies did nothing.
"One little boy was playing with an ice bucket and these aren't toys, they are very expensive actually, so I had to ask him to stop. Then he said to me 'Say please' in what was an aggressive tone... Another child did not like his apple juice and just tipped it onto the floor, and the parents did nothing."
The restaurant has now released images in a bid to warn other local businesses of the practice (La Bella Vista / facebook)La Bella Vista's owners say they have encountered two other groups of "dash and dine" guests in the past couple of months. The owner suspects one group is related to the women on Sunday, and they too used a "professional complaint" technique by "feigning" an allergic reaction - though no allergy was declared when the group arrived. It says it has lost nearly £1,000 altogether in the three incidents.
Warning other business owners in St Leonards-on-Sea, the restaurant posted pictures of the women on its Facebook page. The post reads: "Warning to all small business owners! This despicable group brazenly walked into La Bella Vista this afternoon with their 8 children, ordered over £400 worth of food and drink and then refused to pay.
La Bella Vista has shared pictures of the diners on its Facebook page (La Bella Vista / facebook)
The group's bill, which shows they ordered more than £400 worth of food and drinks (La Bella Vista)"The police managed to recover £60 for us, a mere drop in the ocean! This is the 3rd time we have been hit by groups like these in the last couple of months, so please be aware."
Responding to the Facebook post, which has been shared nearly 2,000 times, people urged businesses to blacklist the group. One Facebook user wrote: "This is just dreadful." Another said: "Black list them from every café, restaurant, anywhere they would have to pay. What are they teaching their children? It’s criminal, it’s stealing no other word for it." A further user shared: "That’s unforgivable... Doing this to such hard-working, kind people."
La Bella Vista claims the group also pretended there was a foreign item in a dish (La Bella Vista / facebook)Police assisted when three women left but staff kept the fourth woman inside the restaurant until officers arrived. Sussex Police said the force continues to investigate the incident, in which it said a member of staff was believed to have been assaulted at the restaurant.
A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: "We can confirm we are investigating a report of a group of people making off without payment from a restaurant in St Leonards. The group are alleged to have left La Bella Vista in Grand Parade around 5pm on Sunday 7 January without paying for their meal.
"A member of staff also reported being assaulted. Officers have attended the premises and engaged with staff and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to report it online or call 101, quoting serial 748 of 07/01."
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