A pub owner has been left devastated after a couple tucked into mountains of food and drink racking up a whopping £145 before fleeing without paying.
David Rainbird, the owner of the Dukes Head pub in the village of Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex, said he had been left “devastated” after the couple tucked into starters, a large main course and guzzled down numerous bottles of wine and cocktails.
Mr Rainbird told Express.co.uk he had been out for dinner for his mother’s birthday last Saturday, before arriving back at the pub to find staff “really upset” following the incident which left him “shocked”.
He sifted through hours of CCTV to find footage of the incident after staff told him the pair had constantly been disappearing outside for cigarettes during their time in the pub, before then ordering dessert.
Once the dessert was ordered, the couple went out for another cigarette break and while staff prepared the food the woman kept watch by looking through the pub’s front window while her partner went to collect their car pulling it up to the front of the boozer to allow them to make their getaway.
Mr Rainbird told the Express: “I gave them time to come back before I released the footage in case they had to dash off for an emergency, but they didn’t come back.
“I like to think the best of people but this is just disgraceful.”
Mr Rainbird has been in the pub trade for more than 25 years spending two as the owner of the Essex boozer and added losing the large bill could have sunk his business during difficulties following the pandemic, which saw his electricity bill alone soar above £3,000.
He added: “It’s really tough to accept something like this happening, two years ago losing a huge amount like this would have ruined me.
“It’s been a really hard few years for the industry and we really don’t need things like this, I think we’re kind of the lucky ones as we’ve managed to build up a name for ourselves and got loads of praise for the restaurant.
“At the end of the day they have robbed us, it’s no different from going into a shop and taking hundreds of pounds worth of clothes.”
In a Facebook post he said the couple “should be ashamed of themselves”.
The publican said he was grateful for the online support he received from locals and others in the pub business after posting the CCTV images on Facebook adding that he felt “dine and dash” incidents were on the rise.
Mr Rainbird said: “I can’t believe the impact it has had, the incident has really upset the regulars as well and people living in the village.
“People are sympathising because it seems to be happening more often recently, I’ve heard from two more local businesses who have experienced similar things so I’m wondering whether it’s the same people going around.
“It’s really sad because we’re all independent businesses here, we can’t afford things like this.”
He urged anyone with information about the couple to get in touch with the pub via email at thedukesheadessex@outlook.com.
Essex Police has been contacted for comment.
