Ken Todd, 76, the landlord of the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, near Southend, said the man and woman tried to flee without paying their £62.20 bill on April 21. (Image: SWNS)
A couple suspected of repeatedly dining and dashing were stopped from leaving a pub by quick-thinking locals.
The young couple, thought to be from Essex, have reportedly targeted several venues and at least ten taxi drivers across Southend in recent months.
The landlord of the Castle Inn in Little Wakering, near Southend, Ken Todd, 76, has come forward as the latest alleged victim of the pair’s antics. He claims they attempted to leave without paying their £62.20 bill.
Before the pair managed to escape without paying, customers recognised the duo, who have been named locally as a former solicitor and electrician.
Mr Todd said: “To think that people would even try and do that, it is upsetting. For the sake of £62, if they came in and were starving I’d just give them the food. Other customers helped my staff to stop them from leaving – the man was being very loud and it became a heated situation.
“We kept them talking for a good hour and some people accused them of being serial offenders. The customers blocked the entrance and were checking who was coming in and out.
“The man tried to leave through the back door of the pub which I had already locked and apparently the woman tried to escape by the bathroom window.
“It is a very stressful situation and it is difficult to deal with both at the time and afterwards but we’ll carry on – we’re lucky it was £60 and not £300.”
Taxi driver Mr Pejtri claimed he has also fallen victim to the couple (Image: Courtesy Patrick Pjetri / SWNS)
CCTV footage from the 17th-century pub reveals a man in a black polo top and blue trousers, along with a woman in a white jumper, arguing with staff.
The woman is seen attempting to bypass a staff member while holding her bag, pushing him as he tries to guide her back to the table.
Mr Todd said the pair tucked into a prawn cocktail, breaded mushrooms, and two roast chicken dinners with extra lamb.
They also drank two cokes, an orange juice, and a medium glass of pinot wine.
The couple then tried to leave without paying the bill for their two starters, two main courses, and four drinks before staff and other customers intervened.
The man has previously kicked up a fuss about payment (Image: Ruzhdi Bushi / SWNS)
Mr Todd, who has been the landlord for eight years, recounted: “When we told them they had to pay for their meal, the woman said: ‘My dad will come and pay but he’s at the hospital with his grandson at the moment’. When we asked why they didn’t have any money, they didn’t give any answer at all – they just sat there.”
The Castle Inn alerted the police, who arrived and took the couple’s details. However, they were allowed to leave as the landlord considered it “not worth pursuing for £60.”
Patrick Pjetri, a taxi driver for the firm ‘333444’ in Southend, reportedly also fell victim to the couple on February 4 of this year.
Mr Pejtri, 44, said he was notified by the taxi company’s office that two individuals had dodged a fare earlier that day with a description of the couple.
A couple matching that description got into his cab and he also recognised them as the ‘dine and dash’ couple.
He said: “The man asked to get out the car earlier than the woman and when she asked to get out further down the road, she couldn’t offer any payment. She offered me a phone charger saying its worth £20 when the fare was £19.20.
“When I refused, she started screaming and say ‘its enforcement of imprisonment’ because I said they’d have to leave something behind or wait until they could come up with the cash.
“She claimed they were going to get the money from one of their parents but in the end I had to just let her leave because of her screaming and shouting.”
Mr Pejtri, who has been a cab driver for eight years, took a picture of the woman as she left the car in order to identify her as not paying the fee.
He added: “It’s gotten to a point now where the police aren’t doing anything so it must now be up to the small businesses to take matters into their own hands.”
Photo taken by taxi driver Patrick Pjetri of a female fare dodger inside his cab, in February 2024, whom he believes may be the same woman from the The Castle Inn. (Image: Patrick Pjetri / SWNS)
Taxi driver Ruzhdi Bushi, 46, confronted the man during a similar experience at the end of last year and said he recognised him as the same man from CCTV images.
Mr Bushi said he had picked up the couple multiple times for the same taxi company and reported them to the police after they dodged a £20 fare.
He said: “I reported them to the police and they said ‘are you willing to go to court?’, I thought ‘no, not for the sake for £20’.
“They said they’d dismiss the case and now I realise the pair have been doing it to everyone. The officer told me we know who it is and we have his details.
“They’ve been doing it to everyone – we know of at least ten drivers.”
The Castle Inn, Little Wakering which was victim to a couple attempting to ‘dine and dash’ on Sunday April 28, 2024 (Image: Courtesy Ken Todd / SWNS)
Zeeshan Hayder drives for the same taxi firm and has picked the man up twice – both times he fled without paying. He said in 18 years of working as a cab driver, this is the worst instance of fare dodging he has come across.
Mr Hayder, 39, said: “You have to earn your living every day with the fares as you’re self employed.
“I’ve called the police and they say it’s a civil matter – but those two are taking advantage of that.
“They know people won’t want to waste their time and money going to court for £10.”
Another victim of the pair, Steve Yeung, 52, said he has had no update from the police since his family-run restaurant was targeted in February.
Mr Yeung’s Chinese restaurant The Pearl Dragon in Southend, Essex – just five miles away from the Castle Inn – was hit by the ‘dine and dash’ couple who fled without paying their £127 bill.
The restaurant owner has identified the man and woman who tried to leave without paying at the Castle Inn as the same people who he filed a police complaint against.
Mr Yeung said: “We all knew they’d do it again – I’ve had no update from the police on my case. I don’t understand how they have all the details and yet still have not done anything.”
The woman in the pair is believed to be a former lawyer struck after being previously convicted of failing to pay a £60.91 at a Harvester restaurant.
The man is believed to be an electrician whose former employer accused of stealing £7,000 worth of equipment.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We were called at around 5.18pm to reports of two individuals trying to leave a pub in Little Wakering, without making payment.
“Officers attended and liaised with all staff, members of the public and all parties involved. Details were taken from two people at the scene and enquiries are ongoing.”
