Several other restaurants claim 'family who walked out without paying' have done the same to them

There are claims that a group who walked out of a Swansea restaurant without paying a £329 bill have done the same at other restaurants in south Wales.

WalesOnline has spoken two other restaurants who say they believe a group who left newly-opened restaurant Bella Ciao without paying on Friday night have also done the same to them. In total, as many as seven restaurants may have been affected.

Bella Ciao claims that a woman who was part of the group had tried to pay with a savings account card which got declined twice, so she said her son would wait inside while she went out to get her 'other card'. However, the restaurant said she did not return and claimed the son did a "runner".

Staff say they have reported the incident to police and posted a picture of the group on their social media page. The family-run business only opened in Castle Street last week. Manager Tyrone Reese added: "They were ordering the most expensive things on the menu, like T-bone steaks and the like."

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The incident has been shared widely on news websites and on social media and now other restaurants have come forward to say they believe the same group has targeted them. La Casona in Skewen, not far from Swansea, reported that a very similar thing happened to them in February. They allege that on February 23 a group of six people with similar descriptions left without paying a bill that was almost £300.

The restaurant claim: "After the meal, four people have already left our restaurant. One lady stayed with a young boy to 'pay'. The woman tried to pay with a card which was declined. She said she would get another card from the car. We asked the boy to stay and wait for her in the restaurant. She left, and 10 seconds after, the boy started to run to the car. We called the police as soon as it happened. The police responded that this was not an emergency and that we could only report them, which we did."

They claim that a CCTV recording, photographs and a car registration plate number was sent to the police but they have not had any updates.

In relation to the incident at La Cason, police said: "South Wales Police was called just before 8.15pm on February, Friday 23, with a report of making off without payment from a business premises on New Road, Skewen. Investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances behind the incident and to identify those involved."

And the owner of a third restaurant, The Yard in Cowbridge, says that a similar incident also happened there earlier this year with a bill for £151 going unpaid. Paul Langford claimed: "We reported it to the police. [A woman] was pleasant throughout the meal. They asked for steak too. We do not do steak and thank goodness! When it came to pay the family left save for [the woman]. She tried using the bank card which was declined twice then said she was going to a cash machine a few doors down then ran away. We have been open since 2017 and this is the first and only time that it happened to us. We were just in shock and we have heard from around seven other restaurants in south Wales of a similar thing happening."

Referring to the allegations from The Yard restaurant, police said: "South Wales Police was called just after 8.30pm on March, Tuesday 19, with a report of making off without payment from a business premises on High Street, Cowbridge.

"Investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances behind the incident and to identify those involved."