THIS is the moment Britain’s worst diners and sleepers are jailed after missing restaurant bills worth more than £1,000.
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and his wife Ann McDonagh, 39, were caught on camera in a series of restaurants across the country. Wales.
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O shameless The couple paid bills totaling £1,168.10 at five different restaurants, using their children as “bait”.
They were yesterday jailed for a total of 20 months after pleading guilty to five counts of fraud at Swansea Crown Court.
Footage released by police shows the moment the pair were arrested at their home in Port Talbot.
Ann McDonagh – described as the ringleader of the scheme – repeatedly shakes her head and says “okay” as her rights are read to her.
Bernard, a father of six, is then led out of the house in handcuffs, followed by his wife.
As well as admitting their part in the scam, the couple also pleaded guilty to four counts of shoplifting after stealing £1,017.60 worth of Tommy Hilfiger merchandise, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Ann McDonagh pleaded guilty to another charge of obstructing a police officer.
She has 18 convictions for 36 crimes, including fraud and theft, while her husband also has a history of theft.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas KC told Ann McDonagh she had the “leading role” in the scam and was a “fluent and experienced liar”.
He also said the couple had caused “significant harm” to the travel community with their behavior, which could “feed and reinforce some people’s negative stereotypes.”
He added: “If your community is, as I have been told, disgusted by your behavior, they have every right to be.”
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Swansea Crown Court heard the couple would use a card they knew would be declined to “pay” and then leave one of their children in the restaurant as a sign they would return.
The pair then fled the scene along with their “decoy” children.
They used 43 different aliases and 18 different dates of birth to scam restaurants within a 30-mile radius in Wales.
Their dinner-and-jogging streak was finally cut short when footage of them leaving Italian restaurant Bella Ciao without paying a £329 bill went viral.
They joined six other people at the venue to dine on expensive plates of T-bone steak and fancy desserts before running.
The group, who also drank 15 bottles of champagne, raised suspicions when they returned half-eaten dishes.
CCTV showed the mother trying to pay with a savings card, which was declined twice.
She then told the team that her son would wait inside while she got another card, but the group disappeared.
In a statement to the court, owner Giovan Cangelosi said: “When this happened I felt stupid and robbed and I was really blaming myself for it.
“I found myself doubting clients and worried that this could happen again.
“My father and I even discussed changing the dynamic of the restaurant so that people pay first before sitting down to eat, but I didn’t want to do that.”
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After the footage was viewed by more than 12 million people, other restaurants came forward to reveal they had also been targeted.
This included a Chinese takeaway which left £99 out of pocket after the couple ordered a large meal for their home.
The pair also fled the River House restaurant in Swansea without paying a £267 bill.
And they failed to pay a £196 bill at Isabella’s Porthcawl restaurant, as well as a £267.60 bill at La Casona restaurant in Skewen.
Ann McDonagh told probation officers that she specifically targeted restaurants to Lux meals because “they weren’t something she could normally afford.”
In addition to the prison sentences, the couple were ordered to pay £2,185 in compensation, £1,168 for unpaid restaurant bills and £1,017 for items stolen from shops.
Crown Prosecution Service Cymru said: “The robberies committed by McDonagh’s have had a devastating impact on local family restaurants.
“These companies, already facing numerous challenges, have suffered financial losses and emotional strain due to the McDonaghs’ actions.
“They were brought to justice today.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
