Dad sentenced over Cornwall dine and dash incidents

A father-of-three has been sentenced over two dine and dash incidents in Cornwall during the summer. Pat O’Toole, 41, racked up bills which amounted to hundreds of pounds before he fled the restaurants without paying.

O’Toole, of Phelps Way, Hayes, London, appeared at Truro Crown Court today (Thursday, November 28) for sentence, having pleaded guilty to two counts of making off without payment and one count of handling stolen goods.

The court heard how on August 4, O’Toole visited the Cornish Arms in Hayle as part of a group to have a meal. They racked up a bill of £106 but O’Toole and the rest of the party left without payment.

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Later that month on August 17, he again sat down with a group for a meal but this time at the Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives. The bill came to £312 but once again, O’Toole and the group left without paying.

Both incidents were reported to the police and O’Toole was identified through CCTV footage captured within the restaurants. Just six days after the dine and dash at Tregenna Castle Hotel, police attended the car park of the Premier Inn, in Hayle, where they found O’Toole inside a motorhome.

Officers discovered that the motorhome had been stolen in 2020 and found the vehicle had false licence plates on it, with two more inside. In an interview with police, O’Toole had initially denied any criminality for the dine and dash incidents, saying he thought others were going to pay for the food.

In mitigation, the court was told that O’Toole is “ashamed and upset by his behaviour” this summer, and that he committed these offences because he was “depressed” over the amount he was drinking.

It was also heard that as a result of O’Toole’s time in custody prior to sentencing, his mother, who is in ill health, has been left to look after his three children, which has taken a toll on her. O’Toole said he feels ashamed that she has been left in that position as a result of his dishonesty.

In sentencing, Judge Simon Carr said there is “an epidemic” of dine and dash incidents in Cornwall which is putting many businesses at risk of bankruptcy. He told O’Toole: “You knew from the very beginning you were never going to be able to pay the bills.”

O’Toole was sentenced to a total of eight months imprisonment suspended for two years. He will also need to complete 10 days of rehabilitation and 100 hours of unpaid work.

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