'Mortified' woman settles unpaid meal bill

Our report leads to happy ending for pub

ONE of two women suspected of cheating a pub out of a slap-up meal has apologised and paid up after Newburytoday.co.uk reported the incident.

On Wednesday we revealed how the pair ordered the finest food and drink from The Sun In The Wood at Ashmore Green before leaving without paying the bill.

Proprietor Lauren Davison believed they had abused her trust and that of her staff and said: “It's the first time in my 25 years here that this has ever happened. It's very sad because we are trusting.”

The incident, also reported in our sister publication the Newbury Weekly News yesterday (Thursday) happened on Saturday evening when the women ordered starters plus the most expensive items on the menu - beef Wellington and fillet steak - then followed it with luxury desserts and the cheeseboard.

However this afternoon Mrs Davison revealed: “One of the ladies came in to say she had seen the report and was mortified. She said that she and her friend had each assumed that the other had paid the bill.

“She apologised and paid the bill in full with her credit card. I'd like to thank Newburytoday.co.uk and the NWN very much for highlighting what happened and for helping us get the bill settled.”