Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, tricked restaurants out of £1,168 (Picture: Wales News Service)
A dine-and-dash couple have pleaded guilty to skipping out on paying bills worth thousands of pounds at various restaurants.
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, from Port Talbot, Wales, have been charged with five counts of fraud and four counts of theft related to shoplifting at Swansea Magistrates Court.
The married couple covered their faces away from the cameras before they entered court this morning.
They were charged last month over a series of dine-and-dash incidents across south Wales over a period of nine months.
Staff at Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Swansea said a family of eight left without paying a £329 bill and posted footage of this on social media.
Suspicions were raised when they started sending back half empty plates despite ordering expensive steaks, 15 bottles of pop, and expensive desserts.
The footage showed Mrs McDonagh trying to pay the bill but her card was declined twice and she said she would leave to get her other card but vanished.
Staff could not contact the family because the number they left when booking did not work.
This is the moment Mrs McDonagh attempted to pay a bill twice and then vanished (Picture: Wales News Service)
The family ordered expensive steaks and desserts at one restaurant (Picture: Wales News Service)
Mr McDonagh alongside his wife will be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on May 29 (Picture: Wales News Service)
These restaurants posted appeals to help identify the mystery family who ordered slap-up meals before fleeing.
The Yard in Cowbridge, River House in Swansea, and The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun, all went public with appeals for restaurants to beware.
Another restaurant La Casona, near Neath, reported they were left £300 out of pocket.
The Yard restaurant reported a loss of £150 from an unpaid bill.
The family’s blue Ford van was caught on CCTV at some of the restaurants the couple ripped off.
The group skipped out on bills worth £1,168 across five restaurants.
The pair also admitted shoplifting a total of £1,017 from Tommy Hilfiger, Sainsbury and Tesco.
Mrs McDonagh also admitted another offence of obstructing a police officer. She has 18 convictions from 36 offences including fraud and theft.
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Mr McDonagh has previous convictions for theft.
Both will appear at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing on May 29.
They have been given bail and refused to comment as they left court.
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