A Cheshire restaurant claims to have caught a couple deliberately 'planting' glass in their food in an attempt to avoid paying their bill.
Bosses at San Marino Italian Bar & Restaurant, which is based in Widnes, have urged people to be aware of the 'experienced' scammers and just how far they will go.
The unidentified man and woman, who were also accompanied by a young girl, were dining at the eatery on 5 April when they complained that they had found a sharp object in their meal.
Advert
The pair told staff that they had found glass in a pasta dish, with the female alleging that she had 'almost broke' her pricey veneers by chomping down on it.
They then refused to pay their £64.85 bill and demanded compensation, before leaving the restaurant without forking out for their grub.
San Marino employees were left baffled as to how the object had supposedly ended up in the woman's pasta - but they say everything became clear when they checked their cameras.
Take a look at this:
The restaurant claims that CCTV footage shows the male diner pulling something out of his pocket and passing it to his partner to place on her napkin.
Advert
The video appears to show the woman then scooping some food onto the tissue, before calling a staff member over to show them the glass.
San Marino shared the footage to Facebook in the hopes of warning other businesses to be wary of these kind of scams, which it said are extremely 'damaging to small, hard-working' restaurants.
Managing director Miraz Yolcu said he hopes the clip, which has racked up more than 115,000 views, will help other restaurant owners to spot 'false claims.'
"It was shocking to see the CCTV footage," he said. "They were with their daughter but they're not ashamed. They are experienced. She was looking at the cameras around."
Miraz explained that the diners did not make a reservation but staff 'happily showed them a table', adding that 'everything was fine' up until their food was sent out.
Advert
He said: "They had almost finished their food when the lady called one of the staff and said she found a piece of glass on her food that was in her mouth and almost broke her veneer teeth she has paid thousands of pounds for.
"They wanted to go to a GP. They said they won't pay for this meal. Everybody was in shock. The staff were worried and they called the manager who came and asked what had happened."
The tall tale was then reiterated to senior staff, who explained to the couple that it was 'impossible' for the glass to have ended up in the pasta dish.
Miraz continued: "The manager was saying, 'Sorry it just doesn't happen, it's impossible to find glass in the food. This is not glass that we use in the kitchen.'
Advert
"They sent me a picture of it and I looked at it straight away and said it wasn't that type of glass. Before I said that, [the couple] already didn't pay.
"We looked at the CCTV and I found he took it from his pocket and gave it to her. She just put it on the table on a piece of napkin and pretended it was in her mouth."
The diners left without paying for the £64.85 worth of food they had ordered, but San Marino are simply thankful that they didn't offer any compensation after later watching the video footage.
"We won't be paying them a penny," Miraz said, while explaining the impact that scams like this can have on small businesses. "It doesn't happen so often, but it causes a lot of stress to staff.
Advert
"It's a serious accusation that could involve police, environmental health and cause all sorts of problems to the business. It could be damaging to the restaurant's reputation."
The bill contained a Penne San Marino pasta, a chargrilled lamb shish kebab, garlic bread, Caesar salad, still water, sparkling water and a Coca-Cola.
The incident has been reported to Cheshire Police, who have confirmed they have launched an investigation.
A spokesperson for the force said: "At 1am on Sunday 6 April police received reports of a theft/deception at a restaurant in Widnes.
"The caller reported that three customers had left the premises without paying for a meal after claiming to find a piece of broken glass in their meal.
"After reviewing CCTV footage the caller believes that the glass was placed in the meal by the customers. Enquiries in relation to the matter are in the early stages."
Miraz now wants others to be wary of 'false claims' and urged restaurant staff to stay 'calm' and check the cameras before deciding what action to take.
"The first time we came across something like that we were shocked but after that I researched and started to get tips about what to do in these kinds of situations," he said.
"You really need to be calm. Before any further action you should say, 'I've got to have a look at the camera and call the police'.
"If they are serious they will check these things and if they're not they will be shocked and if they made it up they would be really scared."
Topics: UK News, Food And Drink, Crime, Business
Olivia Burke