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Imagine ordering T-bone steaks and muffins at a family-run eating place, racking up a invoice of masses of kilos, prior to legging it with out paying a penny.
Well, married couple Bernard and Ann McDonagh were given away with doing this time and time once more, dine-and-dashing to the price of greater than £1,000 at 5 other eating places.
They had a brazen plan which they might act out every time, even involving their youngsters.
That was once till ultimate yr, when a CCTV symbol of the couple shared through probably the most affected eating places on Facebook went viral, and justice stuck up with them.
Speaking to the BBC’s Strange But True Crime podcast, South Wales Police Inspector Andrew Hedley recalled how the CCTV social media submit “exploded”.
“There was a huge outcry over what these people were doing,” stated Insp Hedley.
“There was a need to collectively bring this together under one umbrella and get a grip of it really quickly, before it escalated.
“It was once a brazen fail to remember for the legislation.”
The first goal
Mr and Mrs McDonagh, from Sandfields in Port Talbot, first targeted a restaurant called The River House in Swansea in August 2023.
They ordered the most expensive items on the menu, running up a bill of £267, before running off without paying.
They got away with it that time – or so they thought – and went on to target Golden Fortune in Port Talbot, La Casona in Skewen and Isabella’s in Porthcawl.
Then, in April 2024, the couple visited the newly-opened eating place Bella Ciao in Swansea.
They ordered T-bone steaks and double pudding portions, racking up a bill of £329, before – once again – leaving without paying.
The restaurant’s owners, who at the time described the situation as “destroying”, reported what happened to the police and shared a CCTV image of the couple on Facebook.
The post gained enormous attention and social media sleuths started their own investigations, putting pressure on police who confirmed they were investigating the couple over “quite a lot of studies of constructing off with out fee from a number of companies”.
Bella CiaoWithin days, the couple have been arrested and in May 2024 they pleaded to blame to failing to pay eating place expenses.
Mrs McDonagh was once jailed for 12 months whilst her husband was once jailed for 8 months.
But how had they managed to get away with it for so long?
The duo had a carefully practised plan which was boldly repeated at every restaurant.
Mr McDonagh would leave the restaurant first with other family members, while one child would be left behind with Mrs McDonagh to pay the bill.
When she would try to pay the card would be declined, and so she would offer to go to a cashpoint and leave the child at the restaurant as “evidence” she would return.
But the children were trained to be part of the plan, and seconds later they would run off too.
At Swansea Crown Court, Mrs McDonagh also admitted to thefts from supermarkets and obstructing or resisting a police officer.
The court heard she had even lied about being pregnant to get out of custody.
Judge Paul Thomas KC described Mrs McDonagh as a “prolific liar”.
‘Pure and utter greed’
The question asked by many was why the couple did what they did.
The court heard Mrs McDonagh may have been “looking to make herself really feel higher” following family bereavements.
Mr McDonagh’s defence barrister said the father-of-six was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed”.
But Judge Thomas said they were motivated by “natural and utter greed”.
“Over a length of round 8 months, you two set out on a planned process sustained dishonesty,” he told the court.
“You would move into eating places together with your younger kinfolk, you may have foods and drinks served to you, at the price of masses of kilos, then you may cynically depart with out paying.”
The use of their children was “ruthlessly exploitative,” the judge added, describing the incidents as “moderately pre-planned to a particular development” and “criminal activity for criminal activity’s sake”.
