A restaurateur has praised the ‘honourable’ parents of an Ipswich thief involved in a ‘dine and dash’ after they paid the £147 bill their daughter and her fellow diner left behind.
Shaun Cattermole and Donna-Marie Bridgeman, both of Turin Street, Ipswich, made off without payment from the Unruly Pig in Bromeswell, near Woodbridge on September 9.
Nearly three weeks on the pair appeared before South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to the offence.
The duo were recognised after CCTV images were issued of them making their escape and clambering over a hedge. One was clutching the remnants of a bottle of Cortese, an Italian white wine.
Cattermole, 26, was given a community order with a two-month curfew between 7pm and 7am. He and Bridgeman, 23, were each ordered to pay compensation of £73.92.
However, after their sentencing Brendan Padfield, owner of the Unruly Pig, lauded Bridgeman’s parents for their actions for picking up the entire tab when they realised what their daughter had done.
Mr Padfield added that any compensation he receives will be passed on to them.
He said: “I’m relieved the two culprits have been apprehended.
“I am sorry for them, particularly Donna Bridgeman whose parents have had the dignity and honour to come to see me to apologise because they were so ashamed of their daughter.
“They have already paid me what was due which says so much for them, and so much less about their daughter.
“They are good people. I wish the same were true about the two thieves.
“I will ensure the very honourable Mr and Mrs Bridgeman are repaid accordingly, if Donna Bridgeman and Shaun Cattermole do the honourable thing.”
Cattermole and Bridgeman had consumed a cold meat platter, chilled avocado soup, a Pork Charity, a rump steak, and chocolate dessert. They also ordered two bottles of Cortese, six Baileys, three cognacs and a sparkling water.
Mr Padfield said: “It was one hell of a meal, wasn’t it?
The pair had been sitting outside on a busy Saturday night when they took their opportunity to flee.
Mr Padfield said: “They literally legged it. You could see them (on CCTV), legs akimbo, and one of them had a bottle in their hand.
“This is the first and only incident of people leaving the Unruly Pig without paying.
“The clients we attract are decent people who are the type to tell us when we have forgotten to charge them for anything. This was a one-off.
“I still trust the people of Suffolk because they are mainly honest, kind and decent human beings.”
In addition to making off without payment Cattermole also pleaded guilty to possessing a Class C drug.
Bridgeman also admitted making off without payment from a taxi in Ipswich on May 4, and was ordered to pay £7.80 compensation for that offence.
In addition she was fined £50 for breaching a conditional discharge she had been given previously.
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