Dine and dash 'travellers' sprint out of riverside café with young child after gorging on £100 worth of fry-ups and cakes
The owners of Honey's Bakery & Café are devastated after the group of three women, two men and a very young child sprinted from their table without paying in a 'dine and dash' incident on Tuesday afternoon.
Staff at the family-run cafe in Caergwrle, North Wales, told the Mail how they were forced to chase the suspected travellers through the car park after they refused to pay the £93.80 bill.
A copy of the bill shows the dine and dashers ordered six full English breakfasts, seven cokes, one brownie, two chocolate fudge cakes and a cookie.
It is the latest incident of dine and dashing - a scourge in Britain which is leaving business owners traumatised and out of pocket.
Annie Bailey, who was serving the family, told the Mail: 'We were just shocked that people would actually act like that. All the customers in the cafe were watching on horrified.
'It's such a difference for a small business. It was just horrible to see it happening in real time. You have five or six individuals who just took complete liberties and took advantage of a small business.'
Owner Coleen Tou, who took over the business in 2019, added: 'They were very skilled, they know what they're doing. One lady that's from the group has actually been to the cafe before, so they know that we don't take payment up front.
'I'm just glad the staff didn't get hurt or anything.'
Ms Tou added that she was 'not that shocked' anymore as dine and dashers are rife at the moment, adding: 'It is certainly something I encountered running this business.'
Describing how the group struck this time, Ms Bailey, 21, explained how staff 'believed them to be travellers' when they first came in but had no issues as 'we serve everybody equally'.
She added: 'They came in, sat outside, right next to the car park, ordered a vast amount of food, and then literally ran out of the cafe, ran out of the car park, sprinted away. We ran after them.
'It was a group of six individuals, two men, three women, and a small child as well. They just left completely without paying.
'They had everything, really. They had full breakfasts, cakes and drinks, it was just a horrible ordeal.'
Speaking about the impact on staff, Ms Bailey, who has worked there for four years, said: 'We were just all in complete shock and just really upset and frustrated, really.'
She said they seemed 'fine' when they arrived, explaining: 'We were just keeping an eye on everybody like we do usually and then it was literally just so quick - just two split seconds, and they literally legged it.'
Ms Bailey said they didn't even ask for the bill, adding: 'We chased after them but we couldn't catch up to any of them.'
Raising awareness about dine and dashers in the area, Honey's Bakery wrote on Instagram: 'This afternoon at Honeys we experienced a dine-and-dash incident. A group of family with Irish accents came in, ordered a large amount of food, and left without paying.'
They added: 'If you are approached by a group matching this description, please take payment before serving, and report any suspicious behaviour to the authorities.'
A spokesman for North Wales Police said: 'Shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, 12 August, we received a report that a group eating at a restaurant in Caergwrle, Flintshire, left without making a payment of approximately £100.
'The incident is reported to have taken place at around 2pm.
'Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to contact officers on 101, or via the website, using reference number C124476.'
Just last week, four dine and dashers fled from an Indian restaurant in Northampton after feasting on almost £200 of food.
CCTV showed the group arriving at 10.11pm before leaving at 10.58pm, having feasted on poppadoms, lamb chops, four chicken curries, three chicken chats and a selection of naans and chapatis.
Days earlier, a family of 10 were accused of barging their way out of a popular pub after 'refusing to pay' the £320 food bill.
Kelly Jollife, 49, landlady of the Greyhound Inn in Usk, Wales, said each member of the large group ordered a starter and main course, consumed them fully, but then refused to pay for anything other than their drinks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Republican elites accused of cover-up after married GOP star's arrest for sickening secret
The Republican Party was already braced for the imminent trial of a GOP lawmaker in South Carolina who was arrested in June on sickening child pornography charges. But now sources have told the Daily Mail that RJ May, 38, who has close ties to several sitting U.S. congressmen, may be using those powerful connections to get off the hook.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Boarding school pupils ‘were abused by paedophiles', inquiry finds
Findings on the Keil School in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire – which closed in 2000 – were delayed until the conclusion of the prosecution against a former physics teacher who was branded a 'prolific' paedophile. William Bain admitted 11 charges and was jailed for nine years in June at the High Court in Glasgow, after a criminal investigation was sparked by evidence at the SCAI in 2021. In a report published on Wednesday, chair of the inquiry, Lady Smith, condemned the school's failure to investigate Bain and said it was a 'disgraceful abdication of responsibility' which allowed predators 'free rein', including another recently convicted paedophile ex-teacher. Bain, of Crieff, Perthshire, was described as a sadist by detectives and the scale of his abuse of pupils aged between 11 and 14 was deemed 'horrendous', following his sentencing on June 30. Lady Smith found that school leaders carried out a 'cover-up' to protect their reputation and hailed the 'fresh prosecutions' of Bain and another recently convicted paedophile, following evidence heard at the inquiry. She warned that further abusers could be prosecuted as a result of the SCAI. The findings are part of SCAI's Boarding Schools case study, including Loretto School, Gordonstoun and Merchiston Castle School. READ NEXT: Residents oppose this to be built near Ibrox Stadium Keil School was established by philanthropists to educate rural boys and moved to Dumbarton in the 1920s, where it became an environment where pupils 'were expected to endure violence and suffer in silence', according to the SCAI. From the 1950s until the 1980s, abuse was 'normalised', with prolific abuser Bain remaining at the school until it closed in 2000 and other offences carried out by paedophile English teacher David Gutteridge in the early 1990s. Both men were house tutors and the SCAI condemned a lack of oversight. Bain, who worked there for 23 years, was previously convicted in May 2016 of offences at Keil and jailed for six-and-a-half years, while Gutteridge was jailed last year for indecent assault of a pupil at the school, set up by the Mackinnon-Macneill Trust. In her report, Lady Smith said that a headteacher was responsible for a 'cover-up', while abusers such as Bain had 'free rein on a daily basis'. Lady Smith said: 'Protection of the reputation of the school was prioritised over the interests of children, that was a disgraceful abdication of responsibility. The prevailing culture allowed two paedophiles to operate without fear. 'William Bain sexually abused some children on hundreds of occasions, on an almost daily basis. The abuse Bain perpetrated persisted for years, despite concerns arising early on, after a parent complained.' She branded an investigation 'inadequate' and said parents were falsely reassured. Boarding school pupils 'were abused by paedophiles', inquiry finds READ NEXT: Police report identifies 'growing threat' from Glasgow and Edinburgh gang violence Lady Smith said: 'The problem was covered up by headmaster Christopher Tongue and other senior staff. Despite parents being assured that reports would go on record, this did not happen. Tongue's successor was never told about it.' Gutteridge, who taught at Keil from 1989 to 1991, abused a pupil, having 'carefully engineered the circumstances', according to the SCAI. He was jailed for 17 months following a conviction for indecent assault at Forfar Sheriff Court in September 2024. But his predatory behaviour towards teenage boys predated Keil and in 2015, he was jailed for 18 months after being convicted of two charges of indecent assault at Harrow Crown Court, committed in England in the 1980s. Other staff physically abused pupils, justifying it as 'officially sanctioned punishment', including a housemaster remembered for his 'sadistic brutality' and 'mass beatings', including using the belt, according to the SCAI. Lady Smith said: 'Keil was a school with inadequate senior leadership and a lack of the most basic of child protection systems.' She branded it a 'remarkable example of naivety and false optimism trumping reality', which resulted in children being abused. Lady Smith added: 'The cases of Bain and Gutteridge are examples of a significant outcome. 'Fresh prosecutions followed exposure of their behaviour through the inquiry's investigations and evidence – demonstrating that those who abuse children in care may find it catching up with them decades later.' Responsibility for running boarding houses was left to senior boys appointed 'chiefs', who controlled squads of junior boys, with some staff considering themselves 'immune from management', a report from the inquiry said. Governors of the Mackinnon-Macneill Trust 'failed to challenge the situation' and have since apologised for the abuse, according to the SCAI. Lady Smith said: 'I would encourage anyone who has relevant information on any aspect of our work to get in touch with our witness support team. We want to hear from you.' On Wednesday, nuns from a Catholic order, Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, said that children were abused in the care of their establishments for deaf and disabled children. Sister Eileen Glancy, speaking about St Vincent's School for the Deaf and Blind in Glasgow, told a hearing of the inquiry in Edinburgh: 'We'd have to accept some children were abused.' She added: 'Children weren't as well protected as they should have been.' A former pupil of St Vincent's, using the pseudonym Gordon, said in a witness statement that he told his mother about abuse from nuns, and was punished after she contacted the police. The man said that he told his mother on two occasions, and said: 'The physical abuse used to shock me as these were Christians. We lived with fear and intimidation all the time.' He said: 'My mum spoke to a nun and challenged her about the treatment of children. I know the nun told my mum it wasn't true and I had been a bad boy. 'After that, I was assaulted again and my mum told the police, but nothing happened.' Gordon alleged that he was subjected to sexual abuse as well as physical violence, including having his head 'batted against a desk'. He said that the nuns and a priest were 'hypocrites', and that the school felt like a 'prison' as it was surrounded by 15-foot walls – but there was no alternative, as it was the only school for deaf children. Gordon said: 'There was so much cruelty at St Vincent's and none of us could understand that, the Sisters were supposed to be so holy and caring but were so cruel. This was a period of suffering for all deaf children of my generation. We all suffered, we were all terrified. 'I would like to see charges brought against the people who were responsible.' The inquiry continues.
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Asylum seeker 'living in fear' as he begs hotel protesters to stop abusing him
Khadar Mohamed revealed that the residents living inside the Epping asylum hotel were 'living in pain and fear' every time protests were held outside the Bell Hotel A resident of the asylum hotel at the centre of angry anti- migrant protests has pleaded for the demonstrations to end after the Home Office was ordered to curb their stay. Khadar Mohamed, 24, revealed those ensconced inside the Bell Hotel in Epping were 'living in pain and fear' each time locals held protests outside the hotel and that many now were more uncertain about their futures. Mr Mohamed, who said he had won his claim for political asylum against the Home Office, added: "I want everybody to know that there are no paedophiles and rapists living inside this hotel. "We don't sympathise with that behaviour and if we had had the chance we would have stopped it. It is only one claim against an individual, not against everybody inside the hotel. "So now we've got 50 to 60 days to leave and none of us know what it's going to happen. But there is no need for these people to be shouting at us from outside. "I speak very good English but I've never heard the word "scumbag" until these people came along. It is very painful to be called these names and when people pass you in their cars and you walk along the streets they make noises at you and bad faces. "When I walk past them the ladies hold their purses tighter. But I'm not a thief and I'm not a threat to anyone." Mr Mohamed fled his village of Elbur in Somalia in 2022 after terrorists took command and ordered him to join their ranks. He said his sister Farxiya was killed by members of Al-Shabaab after she was forced into marriage with a member at the age of 21, but refused to comply with their ideology. He said he was pulled into their ranks and ordered to teach the Quran to school children even though he did not agree with their violent struggle and was attacked with a knife which left a scar on his right arm. He added: "They also cut off a fingernail to show me that they could control me." After refusing to 'be weaponised' and join the terrorists in actions against Somalian authorities, he was held in a jail for two years before a friendly associate of the government paid for his release and managed to obtain a Turkish Visa for him. He travelled to Turkey and onto, Greece and Austria where he worked washing dishes and finally got to the UK three months ago. He travelled on a boat which left Dunkirk at 3 am on May 11 carrying 70 migrants and paid people smugglers £800 for their help. He added: "I'm happy that my application for asylum has been accepted. But I don't know what is going to happen next to me or all the people inside there. "I have to get a job and find somewhere to live, but everybody is uncertain about what happens next to them. The people who don't want us here have achieved the result they were looking for, now let us hope that there are no more protests or anger against us. Life is already very difficult." Epping Forest District Council argued that the hotel had become a public safety risk because of its alleged planning law breach by ceasing to be a true hotel. Dan Jarvis, Minister of State for Security, told the BBC the government had "never thought that hotels were an appropriate source of accommodation for asylum seekers." He said the government was "looking at options" to rehouse them in "suitably appropriate alternative accommodation." The case brought by Epping Forest was that the alleged planning breach had led to evidenced harms. Critically, these harms related to protests which had led to violence and arrests. Tory-run Broxbourne Council was the first local authority to declare it was seeking legal advice after the ruling "as a matter of urgency about whether it could take a similar action" over a hotel. Epping Forest District Council has said it had set a precedent and the local councils were now standing up against the influx of asylum seekers into hotels. Government ministers say they are braced for other councils to follow Epping's lead. The ruling causes immediate practical difficulties for the Home Office, which has to find alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers currently housed at the Bell Hotel. It is believed that around 32,000 asylum seekers are living in 210 hotels across the UK who also now face uncertainty over whether other councils will pursue similar action to Epping Forest District Council.
