Man ‘panicked’ and fled restaurant without paying

A BUILDER whose credit card was declined after a family meal at a hotel packed his bags and fled via the fire escape.

James Menzies had used his company credit card on arrival to pay for rooms.

However, when it was rejected at dinner the next night, Menzies, his brother and their respective partners left without paying the £189.46 bill.

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Menzies, 35, of Stoneyburn, West Lothian, yesterday pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining food and drink at the Premier Travel Inn in Livingston last March.

He was under a bail order not to commit any further offences at the time and had a string of previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Sarah Meehan said Menzies had not realised his credit limit had been slashed from £1000 to £500 and “panicked” when the card was refused.

She said his company had since gone bankrupt.

Sheriff Douglas Kinloch fined Menzies £510 and ordered him to pay the bill.

Menzies was cleared by a jury last November of allegedly wrapping a boy in
Sellotape and nailing him to a ceiling.

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