Brazen ‘dine and dash’ couple jailed after leaving restaurants with £1,000 of unpaid bills
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, from Sandfields in Port Talbot, have been sentenced this afternoon for their dine and dash spree.
South Wales couple to be sentenced over dine-and-dash crimes
A couple has been sentenced to 20 months combined after admitting to leaving restaurants without paying bills worth more than £1,000.
Ann McDonagh, 39, and Bernard McDonagh, 41, of the Sandfields area of Neath Port Talbot, both appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday morning.
They pleaded guilty to five counts of obtaining services dishonestly under the 2006 Fraud Act. Ann was sentenced to 12 months, while Bernard was sentenced to eight.
The couple were investigated after a viral Facebook post from newly-opened restaurant Bella Ciao in Swansea shared CCTV of the family seemingly leaving the premises without paying their £329 bill.
The post was shared thousands of times on social media, resulting in other restaurants in the area revealing they had had similar experiences.
Their sentence was read out this afternoon. The unpaid bills totalled £1,168.10 across five restaurants.
Ann McDonagh also admitted four counts of theft. These related to the theft of £126.60 worth of items from Tesco Extra in Swansea, two incidents at Tommy Hilfiger in Bridgend's designer outlet totalling £491 and the theft of items worth £400 from Sainsbury's.
She also pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing or resisting a constable in the execution of duty.
Speaking after the sentencing a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service Cymru said: "The thefts committed by the McDonagh’s have had a devastating impact on local family run restaurants. These businesses, already facing numerous challenges, have suffered financial losses and emotional strain due to the McDonaghs' actions. They have today been brought to justice."
Inspector Andrew Hedley, of South Wales Police, added: "The prolific and brazen offending of Ann and Bernard McDonagh rightly caught the attention of a large percentage of the local public. It is great to see that justice has now been served in the form of these sentences and we thank those members of public who assisted with the investigation.
"They deliberately ran up huge bills at restaurants which they had no intention of paying. This had a significant impact on the premises they targeted, one of which was newly-opened at the time. Reducing and preventing business and retail crime is a priority within Swansea City, and any crime will be fully investigated, with those found offending brought to justice.
"Ann and Bernard McDonagh clearly felt that the law did not apply to them. This sentencing shows that it does.”
