EXCLUSIVE First date from hell: Woman finds herself accused of dine and dash scam - as suitor insists their £58 curry bill will be paid in full
The blind date from Hell happened last Thursday at Cafe Spice, a family-run Indian restaurant in Darlington, Co Durham.
The blonde woman in her thirties had agreed to meet a man she had chatted to online for the first to see if they could strike up any romance - on the understanding that he would be picking up the £58 bill.
The pair chatted while dining on butter chicken, samosas, bhajis, rice, and drinks before a bill was presented - and the woman then left without realising it hadn't been paid.
And that was because her date had, he insists, suffered an incredible run of misfortune:
He had his debit card swallowed by an ATM just before he went to meet her for the first time
Then his online bank closed his account without his knowledge.
His phone was disconnected without his knowledge because of issues around paying bills
The furious restaurant responded by leaking CCTV images of the first date pair to first local and then national media, including MailOnline.
Today the man, who declined to be named, told us: 'I took a girl out - it's an absolute nightmare.
'She never knew. She went to the car. She has no idea.'
He went on: 'I had no intention of doing a runner, mate. I never went back because it was too late by the time I searched for the funds.
'I've been begging to get the cash because my bank account has shut. Anyway it is what it is. It will be paid as soon as I get the cash in my hand.
'I'm having a nightmare. I'm going to be there as soon as I can with the cash. It's rather embarrassing to be honest and I'll be there to pay as soon as possible.
'I do not make a habit of doing this. It's one of those things – an innocent thing. The police rang me earlier and I informed them of the same thing.
'It will be paid. Simple as that. 10,000 percent.'
Cafe Spice, a regional winner at the National Curry Awards, said the pair arrived separately on Thursday night - with the man entering first, and the woman joining about 20 minutes later.
Restaurant manager Ishy Miah, 22, said the male told staff his card had been swallowed earlier by a cash machine and asked if he could pay by bank transfer.
Workers agreed, but once the meal ended, the man said he would 'nip out' to get cash instead - but the pair never came back.
The man denied deliberately fleeing, insisting: 'I went to try and get cash but it was too late [to go back to the restaurant] by the time I ran all over, panicking. I was trying to borrow cash. I was trying to get hold of money.'
He claimed the phone number he gave the restaurant was his secondary mobile, and that it had been disconnected without his knowledge after a missed bill.
He added: 'I have two numbers and because my bank's blocked, it's been cut off. My number got cut off because I couldn't pay my bill.'
'I'm going to pay the bill and with interest.'
The restaurant, which shared CCTV images of the pair online, said the total cost of the meal was £58 - including tandoori butter chicken, special rice, chips, poppadoms, bhajis, samosas, and Cobra beer and Pepsi drinks.
Mr Miah claimed: 'They didn't act suspiciously at all, they seemed normal. That's why we let them go to get cash.
'He said he was going to get cash from the cashpoint. He claimed he worked at the Bannatyne Hotel in Darlington and gave us a mobile number.
'But they just never came back.
'Since then, he's been messaging us saying, 'I'll pay on this day,' or 'I'll come in at this time,' but it's all rubbish.'
The restaurant obtained the man's correct phone number from their records when the table booking was made last Thursday.
Mr Miah says he tried contacting the man - who responded by claiming repeatedly that he would be returning shortly to pay but failed to do so.
Mr Miah said the man had messaged with a series of unfulfilled promises.
As of this morning, the bill still remained unpaid.
This is not the first time Cafe Spice has been targeted by dishonest diners. In 2023, a group of three men skipped out on a £108 bill, and another couple walked out on an £83 tab after saying they were going out to vape.
Mr Miah said: 'You do your best to run a business and then people take advantage like this. Running a restaurant's hard, especially these days. With bills, wages, rates – everything's going up.
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