Two women who ‘walked away without paying’ for a £56 meal at a gastropub with their children said they were forced to leave because of a ‘personal emergency’.
The pair were named and shamed in a Facebook post by landlady Lisa McMaster who shared CCTV footage of the two leaving her pub, the Smithy Arms in Swinton, North Yorkshire.
In the post, Ms McMaster claimed the women told staff they would pay for their food at the bar after their meal.
But one busy evening, no one noticed the couple slipping away from the pub until they were spotted crossing the car park.
Their signature white car with a pink roof was seen backing out of the parking lot and disappearing onto the road. They were given a limited time to pay back their meals.
Mrs. McMaster wrote, “How nice of you to come eat and drink and run without paying. Staying at a campsite nearby.’
But the duo have now been identified as couple Ruby McGrath, 32, and Suzy Hopley, 33, who have come forward online to defend their actions and to reassure people that their bill has now been paid.
The photos of the two women were shared on social media by the cafe owner in an effort to track them down
The two women dined at the Smithy Arms in Swinton, North Yorkshire
The pair say the “personal issue” between them and the pub has been blown out of proportion
Ms McGrath, who runs popular fashion brand FrankandOlive, says the incident has been “blown out of proportion” and what followed the social media post was a “homophobic and body-shaming witch hunt.”
A since deleted post on Instagram reads: ‘Usually I ignore ridiculous online hate but this also concerns my children so I’ll just pop in to say we had a lovely meal last night and experienced excellent service at The Smithy Arms in Swinton, but unfortunately our visit was cut short and we had to run – poor Frank didn’t even get his ice cream – due to a personal emergency.
‘Our plan was to call the pub as soon as possible to report the situation and then return quickly to settle the bill.
‘While we were camping we realized when we got back that we had zero b***** reception and had to wait until this morning to contact the pub and settle the bill!
Anyway, long story short, everything is fine, the bill and generous tip have been paid. There are no hard feelings between myself and the lovely people at The Smithy Arms, but the internet has gone crazy.
The photos of the two women were shared on social media by the cafe owner in an effort to track them down
Their signature white car with a pink roof was seen backing out of the parking lot and disappearing onto the road
A hugely inflated misunderstanding, followed by a homophobic and body-shaming witch hunt. Beware of the power of social media.’
Speaking to MailOnline, Ms McGrath said: ‘What was a personal matter has become something that is out of all proportion to what it was.
‘We had eaten and I was waiting to pay the bill when we had a medical issue in our group and it became urgent for us to leave. My wife was waiting in the car and I just had to leave as soon as possible.
‘I called the pub that night but couldn’t get a hold of anyone and when we arrived at the campsite we were staying at I got no signal.
‘Today I have been in contact with the landlady and explained our situation and that we will pay the bill in full.
“It has not been pleasant for us to be in the middle of this and it was not our intention to cause this situation.”
Frank and Olive’s Facebook page has also been inundated with comments from users urging them to return to the pub to pay their bill.
A comment reads: ‘Pay your bill!!!’
Another says, “Shame on you Ruby. The pub you both walked out of without paying your bill has all your details. Go pay them… we’re all struggling. This is the worst.’
Instagram’s business accounts appear to have been deleted and the website is currently down. However, the TikTok account is still live.
The most recent ‘dine and dash’ figures from the Home Office show that in 2018 the Metropolitan Police recorded 12,610 incidents without committing an offence.