Anish Vij
A serial 'dine and dash' couple have been jailed after racking up over £1,000 worth of unpaid bills.
Earlier this year, Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, were called out by an Italian restaurant in Swansea for racking up a £329 bill and walking out without paying on 19 April.
Bella Ciao said they were 'devastated' by the situation and shared videos and images of the couple alongside the message 'shame on you'.
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After their were identified from social media and the duo were subsequently arrested, it turns out that the pair from Sandfields, Port Talbot, were serial offenders who used more than 40 aliases and 18 dates of birth between them.
They appeared at Swansea Crown Court, and it was determined that they dishonestly obtained food and drink at four restaurants and one takeaway in the South Wales area, with unpaid bills of £1,168.10.
The couple plead guilty to five joint charges of fraud.
Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Ann McDonagh to 12 months in prison and Bernard McDonagh to eight months.
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He said: “From the autumn of last year to spring of this year, you two set out on a deliberate course of sustained dishonesty.
“You would go to restaurants with your own family. You would have food and drink served to you to the value of hundreds of pounds and then you would cynically and brazenly leave without paying.
“You would order the most expensive items on the menu such as steaks in the full knowledge that you had no intention whatsoever of paying for them.”
He added: “You were not going to these places to feed you and your family, it was criminality for criminality’s sake – to see if you could get away with it.
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“I have no doubt, apart from the greed element, you had got a buzz out of what you were able to get away with on a regular basis.”
Prosecuting, Alycia Carpanini gave an example to the court about the time the couple went to the River House in Swansea with three children at 7.00pm on 9 August last year.
“They dined at the location and ordered a large amount of food,” Ms Carpanini said.
“Ann McDonagh attempted payment. She asked where the nearest cashpoint was. Ann McDonagh left a child in the restaurant to wait for her return and to pay.
“It was at this point the child asked to go to the toilet and ran from the restaurant. The total bill was £267.60.”
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McDonagh also admitted to four counts of shoplifting, taking items worth over £1,000.