It was the crime spree that left Wales with its mouth hanging open – as Bernard and Ann McDonagh stuffed theirs full.
At their sentencing yesterday at Swansea Crown Court (May 29), the astonishing £2,185 theft, spread out over various shops and restaurants many of them run by families, was laid bare. Their simple scheme had been hugely successful and saw the couple dine and dash with initial impunity around south Wales, often leaving much of the food uneaten.
They used some 40 aliases and 18 different birthdays, with Ann even at one point lying about being nine months pregnant. When they were finally caught, the couple pleaded guilty to fraud with Ann sentenced to 12 months and Bernard eight.
READ MORE: Repeat dine and dash couple swerved £2k bills after ordering T-bone steaks and booze
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The charges, which include four counts of fraud, five counts of theft from shops, and one count of obstructing a police officer for Ann and five counts of fraud for Bernard, were racked up by a long list of various ploys heard yesterday in court.
(Image: PA)
The first of their so-called dine-and-dash scams was when Ann pretended she was going to get cash during a trip to the River House in Swansea on August 9, 2023. After various failed card payments she asked staff where the nearest ATM was before leaving and running off with an unpaid bill of £267.60.
According to Wales Online prosecutor, Alycia Carpanini explained how “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.”
(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Next, she hit a Tesco Extra, on September 6 2023, filling her trolley with £126.60 worth of booze and toiletries before gliding through the self-service checkout and straight into a Ford Transit.
On January 31 they went again, ordering a Chinese takeaway to the tune of £99.40 to their home. When the driver arrived with the food they refused to pay up slamming the door in their face, swindling Golden Fortune takeaway in Port Talbot of their hard-earned cash.
On February 3 and 17 Ann took £491 from a Tommy Hilfiger store alongside another unknown female. Just six days later on February 23, they ordered a three-course meal for six people at La Casona restaurant in Skewen, racking up a bill of £276.60. A similar trick was used in their first scam, where Ann went to pay and the card was declined. A young member of the family stayed behind, before running off.
Next on the hit list was Sainsbury’s, where the court heard how Ann – just two days after the La Casona incident – lifted clothes and other items worth £400.
(Image: PA)
On March 13, when she was arrested on suspicion of another theft and racially aggravated matter, Ann lied, telling officers she was nine months pregnant. When those officers went to get medical advice they were told to let her go immediately.
On March 27 they racked up a £196.50 bill using the same trick of trying to pay, leaving a young member behind, who waited for 10 minutes before fleeing.
The family booked a seven-person table under the name “Lucy Logan” at Bella Ciao on April 19, just three weeks after the restaurant had opened. They ordered a three-course meal for the entire group and when the bill came Ann tried to make a payment, which failed.
(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
After around five minutes the youngster who had waited behind received a call to which they said something to the effect of “Oh no, I’ll be there now” before running off, leaving the restaurant short £329.10.
When Judge Paul Thomas KC asked the nature of the food ordered, he was told the food would be T-bone steaks and other similar items.
“You would go to restaurants with your own family,” the judge said. “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.”
(Image: PA)
The couple will serve up to half of their sentences in custody before serving the remainder in the community. Bernard’s advocate said he was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed”.
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