Family of 10 'barge out' of pub in brazen dine and dash after £320 meal

The landlady of a well-known Welsh pub has accused a family of ten of "barging their way" out without settling their £320 bill.

Kelly Jollife, who manages the Greyhound Inn in Usk, recounted that the family visited the pub on Sunday, July 27. She alleges they each ordered a starter and a main course, consumed them fully, but then refused to pay for anything other than their drinks.

Kelly claimed they then "barged past" the pub's chefs before departing in two cars. The 49 year old, who has been the landlady at the pub for eight years, expressed her shock at the "brazen" act of "selfishness".

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Police have confirmed they are investigating an allegation of theft. Kelly said: "They looked at me as they were walking out as if to say, 'you can't do anything anyway so, tough'.

"When they first came in they were not particularly nice to begin with. I had explained to them it was table service but they kept insisting on coming up to the bar. That kind of thing. They were gonna do it their way. So they ordered starters, mains and ate all the starters, then half way through their mains the waiter went to check if everything was ok, and they said, 'no it is all s**t. Everything is s**t. It is all just shocking'.

"Then the waiter said 'do you want me to get the manager' to which they said, 'yes, but after we have finished'. They proceeded to eat everything. We had 150 people in house, and 140 of them left happy. Everybody, was happy.

"I was then called and I said 'they are going to have to come and speak with me. I want full payment - they have eaten everything'. The waiter told them this and they replied with 'no - we are not paying. We will pay for the drinks but we are not paying for the food'. This was obviously unacceptable.

"All of a sudden they started walking out. I went straight to the table with the card machine to say 'you need to pay this bill' - it was £328 worth. They put £44 on the table in cash, and walked out. I followed them down the path with some of my chefs as they are bigger than me, and one of the older guys in the family started fronting up the chefs.

"The chefs just said 'look, you are an embarrassment, just pay the bill'. There was not a fist fight or anything, it was mainly verbal. As I was shouting 'you need to pay your bill' they got in the car and left the property."

Kelly revealed she has contacted Gwent Police about the alleged incident, and said there had been a tremendous reaction on social media after she shared details of what happened, reports Wales Online.

She explained the post was designed to "embarrassing" those supposedly involved, stating: "It is not the way to behave." She continued: "But the response I had on Facebook was just phenomenal. Everybody is so supportive."

A spokesperson for Gwent Police stated: "We're investigating an allegation of theft in Usk Road, Llantrisant, which occurred around 3pm on Sunday 27 July. Officers are speaking to several people to establish the circumstances and enquiries continue."