Moment serial 'dine and dasher' wanted over 'food thefts' at string of restaurants 'does a runner' after 'pretending she couldn't pay bill by card then asking where the nearest cashpoint was' is caught on CCTV

This is the moment a suspected 'dine and dasher' wanted for 'food thefts' at a string of restaurants across south Wales 'does a runner' after allegedly asking staff where the nearest cashpoint was because her 'card wasn't working'.

CCTV footage exclusively obtained by MailOnline shows the woman leaving The Yard Pizzeria in Cowbridge, having allegedly built up a £151 tab with a group of six in March this year. 

The woman is part of a couple who are accused of running a 'dine and dash racket' that has allegedly hit seven restaurants within a 30-mile radius across the country since at least August last year.

Each establishment claims the two arrive in a Blue Ford van, sit with large groups of people and order the most expensive dishes on the menu - typically steaks - before allegedly fleeing after the bill arrives.

Emily Langford, the manager of the family-run restaurant the Yard, said each member of the group ordered starters, mains and two bottles of fizzy drinks each.

Once they had finished, most of them allegedly left the premises, leaving the woman to settle the tab. 

She allegedly came to the counter and tried to pay with her card, which was declined twice, before asking staff for the nearest cashpoint and disappearing out of sight after walking out the door.

Ms Langford told MailOnline: 'They left the woman to pay. And she stood up and said 'Oh, is it okay? If I come to the bar to pay?' and we said that was fine.

'She was basically buttering me and my mum up and was saying lots of nice things to us. But as she put her card in it got declined. She was like 'oh that's weird' and it declined again.

'She said she would call her son and sort out a bank transfer, but we weren't comfortable with that and asked if she could pay in cash and showed her where the nearest cash point was.

'I showed her where it was and as I turned my head back through the door to tell my mum she was at the cash point, by the time I turned around again she was gone.'

This 'dine and dash' playbook has been allegedly deployed by the couple in each of the outlets they have hit in the last year.

Despite all seven restaurants reporting the couple to the police, the force are still working to identify them and track them down.

Ms Langford said the theft was 'devastating' for her restaurant, which she runs with both her mother and father.

She said: 'It's devastating. Because obviously, all hospitality is really, really struggling at the minute, like we'll put our hands up and say we're not doing as well as we were doing a couple of years ago, and I'm sure that a lot of hospitality are feeling the same as well, and we know restaurants that are closing around us.

'There's not many restaurants left here in Cowbridge and the High Street here is dying. I just don't want it to happen to anybody else.'

Staff at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot say they were the latest victims of this heist when the couple sat with a group of eight in their restaurant on Friday night and allegedly left without paying the £329 bill.

CCTV footage from the restaurant showed the woman attempting to pay the bill with a savings account card, which was declined twice.

She allegedly told staff her son would wait inside while she went to get her 'other card', but she did not return and moments later the boy had also vanished from the premises.

A similar trick was allegedly used by the couple at the River House last year, when they ran up a hefty bill whilst sitting on a table of five and 'promised' to get cash from the local cash point after their card got declined.

But the diners never returned, leading the restaurant owners to call the police.

The Somerset Arms in Port Talbot, The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun, the Chilli Too Indian restaurant in Clydach, La Casona in Skewen, the Riverhouse Lounge and Restaurant in Swansea also believe they are all victims. 

On August 9, 2023, they posted a CCTV image of the couple in their establishment and wrote: 'Thank you so much to everyone for sharing. 12 positive identifications and the Police are now dealing with the information we have been given.

'Please SHARE to help identify these. They run up a very hefty bill (for 5) and 'promised' to get cash from the local cash point after their card got declined. We like to put some trust in people, but this was obviously carefully planned as they all just disappeared!'

After hearing the Bella Ciao story on Friday, the La Casona restaurant in Skewen, Neath, took to social media this weekend to share a similar story about the couple, who sat down to eat as a group of six on February 23.

According to the restaurant, four of the group left the building after finishing their meal, which cost nearly £300, leaving the mother to stay with a 'young boy' to pay.

The business posted a CCTV image of the mother, who told staff she would get another card from her car after the one she used was declined.

The restaurant asked the boy to wait with them whilst she went to the car, but he was gone 10 seconds later and never returned.

They wrote on Facebook: 'We asked the boy to stay and wait for her in the restaurant. She left, and 10 seconds after, the boy started to run to the car.

'We sent CCTV recordings, photos, and even the registration plate number. The response was: 'This vehicle is connected to many people…'

'Two months later, we called to ask about our case. There was no update, but the Officer would contact us... We believed reporting to the police would help to prevent such events for other restaurants—but apparently, it didn't.'

Tyrone Reese, manager of Bella Ciao, also said he was disappointed by the lack of urgency shown by the force to catch the perpetrators, adding: 'I'm paying my tax for police but I seem to be powerless. It annoys me to know this is happening and that they are getting away with it.'

To add insult to injury, the family-owned restaurant learned there was no way to contact the family as the number they used to take the booking was 'fake'. Mr Reese has now reported the incident to the police.

The dine and dash video he posted onto Bella Ciao's social media pages went viral over the weekend, with more than 12 million people viewing the post.

After publishing the clip, Mr Reese says he was bombarded with calls from other restaurants in the area, claiming they also had similar incidents with a family that had refused to pay.

But the video has actually helped Mr Reese's business as the following night he had tripled the number of bookings, something he described as a 'sign of solidarity' from the local community.

Leaving a restaurant without paying is a crime and carries a prison sentence of up to two years.

A South Wales Police spokesperson told MailOnline: 'South Wales Police is investigating a number of reports of making off without payment from several businesses with our force area.

'Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances behind the incidents and to identify those involved.'