A mum-of-two was hauled before a court after refusing to pay a large restaurant bill because she claimed there was a hair in her meal.

Rosemary McDonagh had been enjoying dinner with friends at Wagamama in Ashford when they left her and another pal to settle the £227 tab.

But the 23-year-old fled the branch at the town’s Designer Outlet without paying after complaining about her food.

She was later arrested and last Tuesday appeared before magistrates in Maidstone, where she admitted the ‘dine-and-dash’ offence.

Ranji Prashar, prosecuting, said McDonagh had finished eating at the Asian-inspired restaurant at about 4.30pm on January 23 this year.

“There were five or six others who ordered food, which came to £226.90, and the others left and it was her and one other still there,” she said.

“She then complained there was a hair in her dish and [the meal] was removed and she was offered another, but she refused to pay and then left the restaurant.

“During interview, she made no comment.”

McDonagh was also questioned over the theft of bedding from Dunelm on December 27 last year.

The items - valued at between £150 and £190 - were stolen from the store at the Ashford Retail Park in Willesborough.

Last Tuesday, McDonagh, of Peneden Heath, Maidstone, admitted shoplifting and a charge of making off without payment in relation to the Wagamama offence.

Defending herself, she told the court her life had been in turmoil at the time.

“Back then, between December and April, I was in a bad relationship and my head was all over the place,” she said.

“I did complain [in Wagamama] as I wasn’t happy to pay the bill for them.”

Asked to explain more about her own circumstances, McDonagh told magistrates she is from the travelling community and lives with her parents and her two young children.

She added: “I don’t work, I am on benefits and I get £600 Universal Credit a month.

“I also get child benefits, but that’s for the kids, and I get PIP for my mental health - that’s about £400 to £500 a month.”

Despite McDonagh having committed a number of previous thefts, and having been placed on a community order before for such crimes, magistrates decided they could deal with latest offences by way of a financial penalty.

McDonagh was fined £138 for the Wagamama incident and ordered to pay the restaurant £50 compensation for her meal.

She was not made to settle the outstanding tab that had been racked up by her fellow diners.

She was also ordered to pay Dunelm £150 compensation for the bedding she stole but received no separate penalty for that offence.

The chairman of the bench warned her: “This must stop or you will be in serious trouble. You have two young children to think about.”

A KentOnline investigation revealed in July that police in the county are receiving more than 15 reports a month of ‘dine-and-dash’ offences.

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott described the crime as one of “greed” and “opportunism”.

“They are making the effort to go and sit there and have an expensive dinner for two hours and then walk away at the end. It’s criminal,” he added.