Woman caught after fleeing restaurant without paying £91 bill | UK | News

A woman who billed £91 for food and alcohol at a restaurant in Northumberland walked out without paying, but was quickly identified by CCTV cameras and taken to court. Tracy Dimmick, 49, left Sambucas in Cramlington without paying the bill after eating and drinking.

He was later recognized from security footage, arrested and appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court in March, where he pleaded guilty to absconding without payment. He was fined and ordered to pay compensation. The court heard Dimmick had stolen goods from a supermarket twice in six weeks, shortly before the restaurant incident. Prosecutor Keith Laidlaw said the offenses were committed at Morrisons in Blyth in August and September last year. He told magistrates: “The witness works at Morrisons in Blyth and at 12.20am on August 4th and at 1.30pm on September 26th he identified the defendant in the store because he was a habitual offender.

“He was in the store on both occasions and stole razors worth £16 on one occasion and laundry products worth £30 on the other.”

The total value of the stolen goods was £46.

Dimmick, who has a previous conviction for smuggling drugs to HMP Northumberland for his nephew, later admitted shoplifting.

Steve Chambers, defending, said he was homeless at the time and sold the stolen items for money.

He added: “He was fined, given a financial penalty and ordered to pay compensation for going to Sambucas in Cramlington in March and making off without paying.

“If this matter had been addressed at the same time, it might not have made much of a difference in terms of sentencing.”

Magistrates fined him £40 and ordered him to pay compensation of £46.