CCTV traps hair in food scam diner
A DINER has been convicted of fraud after plucking a child's hair, putting it in her food and complaining – just to get a free meal.
Louise Smith, 38, was with the girl and a man in the Crown and Thistle pub near Carlisle last May when she angrily complained to staff.
Carlisle magistrates heard this week that in reality Smith did not have the money to pay.
And when staff examined their CCTV, they saw her standing over the child and pulling out hairs.
Smith, of Eastriggs, near Annan, denied fraud in February but failed to attend court this week and was convicted in her absence. An arrest warrant has been issued and Cumbria Police have appealed to her to hand herself in.
A statement from the pub said: “This was not a straight forward matter and that as well as being a fraudulent act, the welfare of a child was a concern, something our own CCTV coverage corroborated. For this reason the incident was referred to the police.”