‘Dine and dashers’ threaten staff and refuse to pay for £146 bill after ‘eating everything’ – but police tell restaurant to ‘deal with it themselves’ as it’s a civil matter

A group of dine-and-dashers refused to pay their £146 bill after finishing all of the food and threatened staff – but police have told the restaurant they must ‘deal with it themselves’ because it is a civil matter.

Flanco Esposito, who runs La Delizia in Hastings, East Sussex, with his wife Rosa, said the group arrived on February 28, ordered multiple courses and ‘ate everything’ before raising a complaint just as the bill arrived.

The women told staff they had discovered a ‘small piece of paper’ in one of the dishes – which they had already polished off entirely.

Despite Mr Esposito apologising and immediately offering to remove the offending dish from their bill, the group refused to pay for anything at all and began to leave.

Mr Esposito desperately tried to stop the group from leaving while calling police – only to be told the matter was ‘civil’ and not something officers would attend to.

‘I come in at 7am and often finish at 10pm, working 10 to 15 hours a day,’ he said. ‘I always thought the police had my back if I was in trouble, but it looks like criminals can just get away with it.’

The restaurant later posted a statement on Facebook saying the police ‘did not initially acknowledge the seriousness of the situation’ and that staff had been left with ‘no option but to allow them to leave for fear of attack.’

CCTV footage later revealed the group had allegedly pulled the exact same trick at La Bella Vista in nearby St Leonards – run by Flanco’s brother Aldo – the previous year.

The women told staff they had discovered a ‘small piece of paper’ in one of the dishes – which they had already polished off entirely

Despite Mr Esposito apologising and immediately offering to remove the offending dish from their bill, the group refused to pay for anything at all and began to leave

Mr Esposito desperately tried to stop the group from leaving while calling police – only to be told the matter was ‘civil’ and not something officers would attend to

The two brothers operate their restaurants alongside their wives, with Aldo’s daughter Emilia also part of the close-knit family business.

Sussex Police have since confirmed they are now investigating an alleged theft and public order offence. 

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: ‘We were called to a report of customers refusing to pay for their meal at a restaurant in East Parade, Hastings on 28 February.

‘The initial report did not meet the threshold for an immediate police attendance.

‘All calls to Sussex Police are assessed using a threat, harm and risk based process to ensure officers are prioritised for incidents where there is an immediate risk to people or a serious crime.

‘We have contacted the restaurant staff and an investigation into an alleged theft and a public order offence is now underway.

‘We are reviewing witness accounts and CCTV footage in order to identify those involved. ‘

Detective Insp Hannah Taylor-Jones, from the Sussex Police investigation team, said: ‘”Dine and dash” incidents have a significant financial and emotional impact on businesses, and we take reports of this nature seriously.

‘No business owners should have to deal with this type of behaviour.

‘Our dedicated Business Crime Team works closely with the business community and victims to gather evidence, take appropriate action, and ensure offenders are held to account.’

Daily Mail has contacted Sussex Police for further comment.