Serial dine and dash couple trapped inside pub by furious customers
- 14 days ago
A young couple suspected of being serial 'dine and dashers' are being probed by police after heroic regulars stopped them fleeing a pub without paying their £62 bill.
The pubgoers and staff recognised the pair who are believed to have fleeced local businesses across Southend, Essex, out of hundreds of pounds.
More than ten taxi drivers in the area are also claiming that they have fallen prey to the couple who have fled their cabs before paying their fares.
The couple have been named locally as a former solicitor and electrician.
On Tuesday (April 23), the latest alleged victim of the couple spoke out and told how his loyal customers stopped the pair from leaving his pub before police arrived.
Ken Todd, 76, the landlord of the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, near Southend, said the man and woman tried to flee without paying their £62.20 bill in the incident on Sunday (April 21).
Mr Todd said: "To think that people would even try and do that, it is upsetting.
"For the sake of £62, if they came in and were starving I'd just give them the food.
"Other customers helped my staff to stop them from leaving - the man was being very loud and it became a heated situation.
"We kept them talking for a good hour and some people accused them of being serial offenders.
"The customers blocked the entrance and were checking who was coming in and out.
"The man tried to leave through the back door of the pub which I had already locked and apparently the woman tried to escape by the bathroom window.
"It is a very stressful situation and it is difficult to deal with both at the time and afterwards but we'll carry on - we're lucky it was £60 and not £300."
The CCTV footage shows a bearded man in a black polo top and blue trousers and woman in a white jumper arguing with staff in the 17th century pub.
The woman can be seen trying to push past one member of staff while clutching her bag, and shoves him as he tries to direct her back to the table.
Mr Todd said the pair tucked into a prawn cocktail, breaded mushrooms and two roast chicken dinners with extra lamb.
They also drank two cokes, an orange juice and a medium glass of pinot wine.
The couple then tried to leave without paying the bill for their two starters, two main courses and four drinks before staff and other customers intervened.
Mr Todd, who has been landlord for the last eight years, said: "A waitress pointed out to me that they were people that had done a runner from other places when they sat down.
"Maybe I should have gone over to them at that point but we decided to keep an eye on the pair and, sure enough, they tried to leave multiple times by various routes.
"When we told them they had to pay for their meal, the woman said: 'My dad will come and pay but he's at the hospital with his grandson at the moment'.
"When we asked why they didn't have any money, they didn't give any answer at all - they just sat there."
The pubgoers and staff recognised the pair who are believed to have fleeced local businesses across Southend, Essex, out of hundreds of pounds.
More than ten taxi drivers in the area are also claiming that they have fallen prey to the couple who have fled their cabs before paying their fares.
The couple have been named locally as a former solicitor and electrician.
On Tuesday (April 23), the latest alleged victim of the couple spoke out and told how his loyal customers stopped the pair from leaving his pub before police arrived.
Ken Todd, 76, the landlord of the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, near Southend, said the man and woman tried to flee without paying their £62.20 bill in the incident on Sunday (April 21).
Mr Todd said: "To think that people would even try and do that, it is upsetting.
"For the sake of £62, if they came in and were starving I'd just give them the food.
"Other customers helped my staff to stop them from leaving - the man was being very loud and it became a heated situation.
"We kept them talking for a good hour and some people accused them of being serial offenders.
"The customers blocked the entrance and were checking who was coming in and out.
"The man tried to leave through the back door of the pub which I had already locked and apparently the woman tried to escape by the bathroom window.
"It is a very stressful situation and it is difficult to deal with both at the time and afterwards but we'll carry on - we're lucky it was £60 and not £300."
The CCTV footage shows a bearded man in a black polo top and blue trousers and woman in a white jumper arguing with staff in the 17th century pub.
The woman can be seen trying to push past one member of staff while clutching her bag, and shoves him as he tries to direct her back to the table.
Mr Todd said the pair tucked into a prawn cocktail, breaded mushrooms and two roast chicken dinners with extra lamb.
They also drank two cokes, an orange juice and a medium glass of pinot wine.
The couple then tried to leave without paying the bill for their two starters, two main courses and four drinks before staff and other customers intervened.
Mr Todd, who has been landlord for the last eight years, said: "A waitress pointed out to me that they were people that had done a runner from other places when they sat down.
"Maybe I should have gone over to them at that point but we decided to keep an eye on the pair and, sure enough, they tried to leave multiple times by various routes.
"When we told them they had to pay for their meal, the woman said: 'My dad will come and pay but he's at the hospital with his grandson at the moment'.
"When we asked why they didn't have any money, they didn't give any answer at all - they just sat there."