Moment 'dine and dash parents' indulge in £150 meal with young daughter 'then take off without paying'

This is the moment a couple allegedly 'dined and dashed' after eating a £150 meal with their young daughter in a country gastropub. Footage shows the man approaching the bar to pay after the family had finished eating at the historic The Chequers pub in Burcot near Abingdon, Oxon. However, he told staff that his card wasn't working and said he was going to their car to get another one. Landlady Madalina Sanderson, 35, followed the man out of their pub before she claimed he turned aggressive. She filmed him on her mobile phone as he tried to cover his face with his hood, asking him: 'Where is your card?'The man reportedly replied: 'I don't have a card.'Madalina said she told the man he was being recorded: 'You don't have a card. Well, you are being filmed and I will call the police now. What's your name? What's your name, I said?'The woman and little girl were both apparently out of sight by the time Madalina left the gastropub, as the man carried on walking down the A415 ignoring her shouts. CCTV footage showed a man approaching the bar to pay for his families' meal before claiming his card didn't work. He said he needed to go to his car to get another card but failed to return The gastropub's landlord Steve Sanderson (left) and wife and landlady Madalina (right) called out the alleged dish and dash attempt on the pub's social media account The Chequers pub in Burcot, near Abingdon, Oxon Landlord Steve Sanderson, 49, thinks the food heist was pre-planned as the family hadn't left their vehicle in the pub car park - which has CCTV cameras - despite it being pretty much empty. The pub bosses reported the theft on Wednesday and police are now investigating.The alleged thieves were captured on CCTV in the pub, which has dishes such as Brill Hill lamb rump for £32.50 and Stonor Park venison pave for £31.50 on the menu.Steve, 49, said: 'They seemed very pleasant while having their meal. But it was clearly pre-planned.'We have cameras in the car park, but they parked at the old people's home next door.'There were only two cars in our car park at the time so why wouldn't they have parked there?'Steve added: 'The woman left first with a child who was about six years old. The man came up to pay. His card was declined and he said he was going to get another one from the car.''My wife was suspicious and she followed him out. People have told me they may have done this at two other pubs.' The man (seen in brown coat on far left of shot) was pictured allegedly fleeing the restaurant CCTV of the woman who is alleged to have fled the restaurant with their child before the manJoin the discussionHow should pubs and restaurants handle customers who refuse to pay and act aggressively?What's your view? Madalina added: 'These people came in for dinner, he didn't have money to pay, saying he's going to his car to get his card.'Please call the police if you see them around. Don't approach him, he became very aggressive.'Steve - who has run the 400-year-old pub for 20 years - added: 'This behaviour is completely unacceptable.'Our team works incredibly hard to provide a welcoming and enjoyable experience for everyone who visits The Chequers, and nobody should ever feel threatened or unsafe simply for doing their job.'We wanted to make other local pubs, restaurants and hospitality businesses aware of this incident and encourage everyone to remain vigilant.'Above all, the safety and wellbeing of our wonderful team will always be our priority.'A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: 'This report has been filed pending further information coming to light.'Anyone with further information should call 101 or make a report on our website, quoting reference number 43260577542.'A staff member confirmed on Sunday evening that the culprits have not yet been apprehended. In a new statement posted on social media on Sunday evening, the pub said: 'Whilst the unpaid bill is incredibly frustrating, what concerns us far more is the aggressive and threatening behaviour directed towards our staff, who were simply doing their jobs.'No member of staff should ever feel intimidated or unsafe at work, and we will always stand by our team.'We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support from our wonderful customers and the local community, and we genuinely appreciate every single one.'We hope that by sharing our experience, we can help raise awareness and prevent other local hospitality businesses from finding themselves in a similar situation.'Thames Valley Police have been contacted for further comment.