A married couple have been charged with fraud after suspected 'dine-and-dashers' were caught on CCTV leaving restaurants without paying.

Bernard McDonagh, 41, and his wife Ann McDonagh, 39, have been charged with five counts of fraud and four of shoplifting. 

It comes after staff at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Swansea say a family-of-eight left the establishment without paying for their meal on Friday evening, racking up a £329 bill. 

The diners ordered expensive steaks, double desserts and 15 bottles of pop, but started to send back a number of half empty plates, which raised eyebrows among staff members.

CCTV footage went viral over the weekend, with more than 12 million people viewing the post. 

It appeared to show a mother attempting to pay with a savings account card which was declined twice. 

A family-of-eight allegedly racked up an unpaid £329 bill when they sat at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Swansea

She allegedly told staff that her son would wait inside while she went to get her 'other card', but did not return and moments later her son also vanished from the premises.  

The family-owned restaurant learned that there was no way to contact the diners as the number they used to take the booking was allegedly 'fake'.

The restaurant's manager, Tyrone Reese, reported the incident to the police. 

A South Wales police spokesman said: 'Two people have been charged with multiple offences following reports of several incidents of non-payment of restaurant bills and shoplifting.'

Leaving a restaurant without paying is a crime and carries a prison sentence of up to two years. 

The pair, of Sandfields, Port Talbot, were released on bail and will appear before Swansea magistrates on May 8.