A female dine and dasher is thought to have cheated at least six restaurants and bars out of hundreds of pounds by enjoying slap up lunches – then leaving without paying her bill.

The same woman has been caught several times on CCTV accompanied by two different men and sometimes with a toddler.

In a carefully rehearsed routine, the woman runs up a significant bill then goes to pay with a credit card which is always declined. She then tells staff she has to go to a cashpoint – and never returns.

She is aged in her early 30s and is always heavily made-up and often wears designer clothing.

The woman shamelessly posts photos of her plates of food on social media and her illegal act is so widely known that one of her followers has asked her ‘did you rob that place too?’

A female dine and dasher (pictured, with toddler at Pinocchio restaurant in Christchurch, Dorset) is thought to have cheated at least six restaurants and bars out of hundreds of pounds by enjoying slap up lunches – then leaving without paying her bill

The same woman (pictured, leaving Chicken & Blues in Christchurch, Dorset last week) has been caught several times on CCTV 

The woman has been accompanied by two different men and sometimes with a toddler

She recently posted on Facebook of how she was on a date night at a Miller & Carter restaurant. When one of her friends jokingly asked her ‘aren’t you most wanted for restaurants?’ she replied with three emojis of a laughing face.

It is believed the woman has scammed restaurants in the Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole areas of Dorset over the past 12 months.

Her latest ruse took place at the Chicken & Blues eatery in Christchurch last Tuesday.

She and a man with short dark hair attended the restaurant with a young boy and racked up a bill of £80 before coming up with the credit card ruse.

Owner Josh Simons posted photos of the pair on social media, prompting people to identify the woman.

Other restaurant owners recognised her from when she pulled off the same stunt in their premises.

Mr Simons said: ‘This lady and gent visited Christchurch Chicken & Blues recently for lunch and ran up an £80 bill, which is plenty of food and drink for two people.

‘After it appeared their card didn’t work, they then “had to visit the ATM” and never returned, causing undue stress to our hard-working team.’

She is aged in her early 30s and is always heavily made-up and often wears designer clothing

It is believed the woman has scammed restaurants in the Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole areas of Dorset over the past 12 months

In a carefully rehearsed routine, the woman runs up a significant bill then goes to pay with a credit card which is always declined. She then tells staff she has to go to a cashpoint – and never returns

The owner of The Place restaurant in Bournemouth, claimed the woman (pictured at the restaurant) targeted her business last summer 

Her latest ruse took place at the Chicken & Blues eatery (pictured) in Christchurch last Tuesday

Mr Simons added: ‘It turns out that a lot of people know them and they’re quite notorious for doing this stuff to other restaurants in the local area.

‘They are apparently habitual scammers of restaurants.

‘Posting about this was not about the money, it was more about raising awareness that this sort of thing is happening locally, and with these people in particular.

‘It doesn’t seem to be the first time they’ve pulled this trick, but if the community gets together, it would be nice if it’s the last time they get away with it.’

Mr Simons has given the pair the opportunity to come in and settle their bill, after which the company will match the £80 and donate £160 to its charity of the year, Bournemouth Foodbank.

Joanna Nowokunski, who owns The Place restaurant in Bournemouth, claimed the same woman targeted her business last summer but with a different man.

Ms Nowokunski said: ‘They came in for lunch. They were very polite and quite well dressed. They had starters and a main course of half-a-grilled chicken each and had lots to drink, the best whisky that we had.

‘When it came to paying their bill, which was about £80, their card declined.

The woman shamelessly posts photos of her plates of food on social media and her illegal act is so widely known that one of her followers has asked her ‘aren’t you most wanted for restaurants?’

‘The man said he would go to a cashpoint and the woman stayed behind. Then he came back to say the cash machine had swallowed his card and that is when I got suspicious.

‘They left a mobile number. I called it and reminded them they had to come back and pay. I then texted it and when I rang it again they had blocked me.

‘We had just opened at the time and were struggling and so every penny counted.

‘I saw the woman about a month later, she walked past the restaurant. I went out and reminded her she owed us money and she got aggressive and started swearing, saying “f*** you” and showing the finger.

‘You don’t do that to people. She is obviously proud of what she does because she has done it so many times.’

The owner of the Italian restaurant Pinocchio in Christchurch claimed the same woman did it to her last year.

She said: ‘A man and a woman came in with a young child. They ordered a lot of food and drink, worth £115. Then they said their card wasn’t working and they would have to get some money out.

‘She waited for him but when he didn’t come back she walked out with the pushchair.

‘I called the police but nothing came of it. It is definitely the same woman who has done it to Chicken & Blues.’

Eva Nedna, who used to work in a cafe in Poole, wrote on the Chicken & Blues post how the same couple didn’t pay for their food last year.

One person who shared an Instagram post by the suspect with photos of several plates of food from another restaurant, asked the question: ‘Wonder if she paid for this meal?’

Jane Ayles, the business and events manager at the Poole Quay Hotel, quickly replied: ‘No they didn’t. This happened in our hotel. Same excuse. We confronted them and they started to get aggressive.’

Joanna Nowokunski (pictured), who owns The Place restaurant in Bournemouth, claimed the same woman targeted her business last summer but with a different man

Ms Nowokunski said: ‘The man said he would go to a cashpoint and the woman stayed behind. Then he came back to say the cash machine had swallowed his card and that is when I got suspicious’

She added: ‘They left a mobile number. I called it and reminded them they had to come back and pay. I then texted it and when I rang it again they had blocked me’

Ms Nowokunski said: ‘We had just opened at the time and were struggling and so every penny counted’

She added: ‘I saw the woman about a month later, she walked past the restaurant (pictured). I went out and reminded her she owed us money and she got aggressive and started swearing, saying “f*** you” and showing the finger’

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: ‘It is reported that between 1.30pm and 2.35pm on Tuesday customers left Chicken & Blues in Church Street in Christchurch without paying for their food.

‘The incident was reported to Dorset Police at around 2.10pm on Wednesday. Officers will be carrying out enquiries into this matter.

‘No arrests have been made.’