Dine-and-dash gang of 20 leave staff distraught as they flee restaurant in their Land Rover and vans without paying £270 bill

A gang of 20 have been accused of a 'dine and dash' after enjoying a slap-up restaurant meal and then fleeing without paying.

The mass theft at Exeter's Tamarind Bay restaurant left the distraught owners £270 out of pocket. 

The party, which included adults and children, arrived at the restaurant in a Land Rover and vans at 7pm on Tuesday.

Pictures showed how they gorged themselves on curry, chips and naan bread with chutneys.

The huge group then washed their meal down with dozens of drinks including Cobra beer and several bottles of Coca Cola and Fanta.

A group of 20 enjoyed a large meal of curries, naans and chips before walking out without settling the £270 bill. Pictured: the food they left behind

The group also got through dozens of drinks including beers and Coca Cola, pictured above

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One family of three, which included a baby, paid their bill of £52 but the others in the party left without paying.

Manager Saiful Rahman said he had seen many 'dine and dash' incidents in his 17 years running restaurants, but said this one 'takes the biscuit'.

He said: 'We have never experienced a mass exodus. It was actually shocking.

'I have experience with travellers and I could tell they were from their vehicles, their accents, the way they spoke and how they acted. 

'We served them because we don’t discriminate.

'We didn't ask for an upfront payment as from experience this would have caused a fuss with them saying we are discriminating against them when other groups of people aren't asked to.'

He said that one man with his family of four, including two children, suddenly got up saying he was going to buy a birthday cake form the table next to them from the Tesco across the road.

Waiters realised the excuse was part of the scam after they were followed by two other tables in the group.

In an attempt to stop the cheapskates from running off without paying, waiters tried to chase them down as they got into their vehicles and drove off towards Exeter city centre.

The families ignored requests for payments, leaving behind a huge mess when they brazenly walked out of the restaurant.

The party arrived at  Indian restaurant Tamarind Bay in Exeter in a Land rover and a series of vans before fleeing without paying towards the city centre

Mr Rahman said he had reported the incident to the police, but was told that as the diners had left it was classed as a 'non emergency'. 

He said: 'I couldn't believe the sheer audacity. It seemed very well constructed and we had to clean up the mess they left behind. What happened is a big deal because bars, restaurants and cages are struggling, so I want some justice.'

But Mr Rahman is not alone in his frustration and this incident is just the latest case in an epidemic of dining and dashing.

Last week an Italian restaurant was left empty handed after a family 'dined-and dashed' after racking up a £329 bill.

The family-of-eight racked up an unpaid £329 bill when they sat at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot, just west of Swansea, on Friday evening

Staff at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot, just west of Swansea, say the family-of-eight left the establishment without paying for their costly meal on Friday evening.

The diners ordered expensive steaks, double desserts and 15 bottles of pop, but started to send back a number of half empty plates, which raised eyebrows among staff members.

Some people have  taken matters into their own hands as emboldened theives refuse to pay for restaurant bills.

In frustration at a suspected serial 'dine-and-dash' couple who have been chased over a string of 'food thefts' at struggling restaurants, their windows were smashed by a masked gang, MailOnline can reveal.

AUGUST 2023: The couple at the River House Lounge & Restaurant in Swansea 

The boarded up windows of the Port Talbot house where a masked gang struck, smashing the windows of the suspected thieves

The Somerset Arms in Port Talbot, The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun, the Chilli Too Indian restaurant in Clydach, La Casona in Skewen, the Riverhouse Lounge and Restaurant in Swansea and The Yard in Cowbridge believe that they are all victims of the 'dine and dashers'

Police have launched an investigation after a three-bedroom house in Port Talbot, south Wales had its front downstairs windows smashed by a gang of men in black balaclavas. 

The owners are believed to have run away without paying the bill from at least seven restaurants.

The eateries have claimed that a couple allegedly behind a 'dine and dash' racket order expensive menu items - typically steaks - before fleeing and leaving the bill unpaid.

South Wales Police said they have arrested two suspects, aged 41 and 39, for fraud and theft offences. They have been taken in for questioning at Swansea Police Station.

Earlier this month six women brazenly walked out of a pub in Worcester without paying their £140-bill.

The gang of women stuffed their faces with food and booze on Saturday March 23 while enjoying a carvery at the Wheelbarrow Castle pub.

Footage from the pub's security camera shows the tracksuit-wearing women filing past the bar with one pushing a pram. 

One woman (pictured far right) from a group who dined-and-dashed can be heard complimenting the waitress on the 'to die for' prawns

The group racked up a huge bill, which included six portions of roast beef and five portions of kids bolognese 

La Bella Vista in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. The owner said she found vomit on the pavement outside after the family had left

One of the women even takes time to stand and pick her nose while waiting for her friends to walk out without paying. 

While the group of six women left a bill of £140, a different group of women dined and dashed leaving a staggering £425 bill behind.

The 'despicable group' of four women and eight children were caught ordering hundreds of pounds worth of food and drink at the La Bella Vista restaurant in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, which they never paid for.

The group ordered six portions of roast beef and five portions of kids bolognese, before one of the women then compliments the waitress on the restaurant's prawns, saying they are 'to die for'.

Deborah Esposito, joint owner of La Bella Vista, said that she found vomit on the pavement outside the restaurant afterwards.