- The family were sitting at Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot on Friday evening
- Were you at the restaurant that evening? if so, email Frankie.elliott@mailonline.co.uk
An Italian restaurant has accused a family of ‘dining and rushing’ after racking up a £329 bill.
Staff at Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot, just west of Swansea, say the family of eight left the establishment without paying for their expensive Friday night meal.
Diners ordered expensive steaks, double desserts and 15 bottles of soft drinks, but began returning a number of plates half-empty, raising eyebrows among staff members.
After receiving the bill, CCTV footage showed the mother of the group attempting to pay with a savings card which was declined twice.
She allegedly told staff that her son would wait for her inside while she went to get her “other card”, but she did not return and moments later the boy had also disappeared from the premises.
The family of eight racked up an unpaid bill of £329 while sitting at Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot, just west of Swansea, on Friday evening.
After receiving the bill, CCTV footage showed the mother of the group attempting to pay with a savings card which was declined twice.
The mother reportedly told staff that her son (left) would wait inside while she went to get her “other card,” but she did not return and moments later the boy had also disappeared from the scene .
Manager Tyrone Reese told the Mirror: “Once he (the boy) gets to the door, he runs. My son was about to chase him but I told him not to.
To add insult to injury, the family restaurant learned that there was no way to contact the family because the number used to take the reservation was “fake.” Mr Reese has now reported the incident to the police.
The Dine and Dash video was posted by Bella Ciao on social media and went viral over the weekend, with over 12 million people viewing the post.
After posting the clip, Mr Reese claims he was bombarded with calls from other restaurants in the area, saying they had also had similar incidents with a family refusing to pay.
However, the restaurant owner said he was disappointed by the lack of urgency law enforcement showed in arresting the culprits, adding: “I pay my taxes for the police but I look helpless . It annoys me to know that this is happening and they are getting away with it.
But the video actually helped Mr Reese’s business as the next night he had tripled the number of bookings, which he described as a “sign of solidarity” from the local community.
Leaving a restaurant without paying is a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.
MailOnline has contacted South Wales Police for comment.
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