'Dine and dash' epidemic in Cornwall, says judge

Pat O'Toole targeted restaurants in St Ives and Hayle

A man has been given a suspended prison sentence for a series of restaurant "dine and dash" crimes.

Pat O'Toole left a number of restaurants in Cornwall and other parts of England without paying his bills during the summer, Truro Crown Court was told.

The 41-year-old, of Hayes, Middlesex, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work after admitting handling stolen goods and making off without payment.

Judge Simon Carr told him there was an "epidemic of the problem in Cornwall".

In August, O'Toole was in a group of four people who dined at the Cornish Arms in Hayle and left without paying a £106 bill.

Two weeks later, he was caught on CCTV in another group who dined at the four-star Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives where they left without paying a £312 bill.

O'Toole was also identified in a group of six people who drove off laughing after skipping a £403 bill from a restaurant in another part of the country, the court heard.

The father-of-three was arrested in a stolen £25,000 caravan with false number plates parked in a hotel car park in Hayle.

O'Toole said he was ashamed of his actions and had spent three months in custody on remand.

Judge Carr said: "There is an epidemic of the problem in Cornwall, ordering meals and putting businesses in danger of facing bankruptcy.

"These offences are taken incredibly seriously."