Colchester Turtle Bay dine and dasher to reimburse restaurant

James Lang had bought two red stripe pints, chicken wings and spiced fries from Turtle Bay on Thursday, May 30.

Staff at the restaurant recognised Lang and called the police as they recognised him from a previous attempt to leave without paying, Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard last week.

Mistake - James Lang claimed he didn't meant to make off without paying (Image: Google Street View)

When police attended the High Street, they searched Lang and found a wallet which had no bank card or cash inside.

Lang, 33, then told the officers he had left his card inside HSBC and police then went inside the bank to make further enquiries, but it was eventually established the defendant did not have the money to pay for the meal in the first place.

Police arrested Lang the same afternoon and took him to Colchester police station where he was cautioned.

Lang was unrepresented in court and told magistrates he never meant to leave without paying.

He said: “I was waiting for two days for money to come into my account.

“I didn’t mean to do it at the time – it was a mistake.”

Admitting one charge of making off without payment, Lang added: “I will pay the fine and what not.”

The court heard Lang was receiving £1,000 per month in benefits.

He continued: “I don’t have a job – I'm thinking about starting college.

“I suffer from a bit of mental health illness, so I am quite forgetful about community orders.”

Chair of the bench Jeremy Batchelor ordered Lang to pay a fine.

He said: “You are saying it was a genuine mistake on your behalf and that you got confused about how much money you had.

Repaid - James Lang was ordered by magistrates to repay Turtle Bay (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

“Taking that into account, we will find you as a person on benefit.”

Lang, of Whitmore Drive, Colchester, was fined £120 and ordered to pay £34 in compensation to Turtle Bay.

He was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs.