A furious landlord has launched a hunt for greedy guests who guzzled ribeye steak and real ale before sneaking away without paying their £150 bill.
The dine and dash customers allegedly used a particularly busy night to quietly slip away without being noticed by the bar staff.
However they were caught on CCTV at the Horse and Jockey pub and hotel in the picturesque village of Tideswell, which is in the heart of the Peak District National Park.
The diners ate two £27 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, washing it all down with several real ales and lagers.
Landlord John Watson told : ‘We’re a family pub and our staff work really hard to provide a good service and really good food and drink for our guests.
‘The hospitality industry is only just getting back on its feet and we’ve come off the back of a difficult winter so losing £150 in revenue really matters to us, as it would to any pub in the country.
‘The bar staff said they made no attempt to pay after having a really good meal, they simply walked out and weren’t seen again.
‘I don’t know how people have the audacity to act that way, it’s shocking behaviour. We haven’t had anything like this before but it seems to be happening more often across the country.’
John’s son Sam Watson, who helps manage the pub, said: ‘They were ordering some of the priciest food on the menu, they certainly weren’t holding back and they also had quite a bit to drink.
‘It was a busy night because we had a road race going on which ended at the Horse and Jockey, so there were quite a few people around and it looks as though they took advantage of that.
‘Thankfully we found them on our cameras and we’re getting their pictures out there because there’s no doubt they must have known what they were doing.
‘So far the police have not been informed and we’re hoping that we don’t have to. We’d like them to come back to the pub and settle their bill and as far as we are concerned that will be the end of the matter. They’re fairly distinctive so hopefully someone might recognise them.’
Locals expressed their anger on social media as the images were shared by the pub after the incident on Monday June 24.
One posted: ‘I hope they get caught, people work hard in the pub industry.’
There is growing concern in the hospitality industry at the rising number of dine and dash incidents across the country.
The cost of living crisis has been blamed as a possible reason for the surge in incidents, as well as a big rise in the number of shoplifting offences being reported.
Donna Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, led calls for a clampdown.
She said: ‘It’s a crime that is growing. This could be down to the cost-of-living crisis. But there is no excuse for people to go to a restaurant, have a three-course meal and bottle of wine and then not pay for it. It’s outrageous.’
Kate Nicholls, the CEO of the trade body UKHospitality, said. ‘It is a serious matter for the businesses affected.’
She went on: ‘These businesses operate on very tight net profit margins – less than 4% – and often it can be quite big-spend items that people are going for.
‘The cashflow impact is not something that can be reclaimed. It’s not like an insurance loss – but it can have a very real impact.’
She objects to the term ‘dine and dash’ as she feels it minimises the offence.
Ms Nicholls said: ‘Let’s call it what it is: this is theft and fraud and it should be prosecuted as such. It’s not a victimless crime.
‘It is money that is being taken from a business for goods and services consumed – it’s exactly the same as shoplifting.’
In May a couple from Wales were jailed for a series of dine and dash incidents, using their children as a distraction to walk out on bills of more than £1,000.
CCTV of Bernard McDonagh, 41, and his wife Ann McDonagh, 39, eating meals and failing to pay for them at a Swansea restaurant went viral.
The couple, from Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to failing to pay restaurant bills between August 2023 and April 2024 at Swansea Magistrates’ Court.
Ann McDonagh, who also admitted thefts from two supermarkets and obstructing or resisting a police officer, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, while her husband was given eight months.
The pair will serve half their sentences, and will pay a total of £2,185.70 in compensation, £1,168 for their unpaid restaurant bills and £1,017 for items stolen from shops.
At their sentencing hearing, Swansea Crown Court heard the pair used more than 40 aliases and 18 dates of birth as part of the fraud.