A couple has been arrested after allegedly conning restaurants and pubs out of thousands of pounds in unpaid bills across East Anglia.

Officers arrested a 45-year-old man from Hadleigh and a 43-year-old woman from Sudbury on suspicion of making off without payment in Ipswich on Wednesday (November, 18).

It follows a spate of ‘dash and dine’ incidents from restaurants and pubs in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex.

In Norfolk, the couple are said to have targeted the Bird in Hand pub in Wreningham on July 19 and the Sugar Beat Eating House in Swainsthorpe the following day.

Elsewhere, a bill of £197 was not paid for at The Marquis of Cornwallis in Layham on September 10 and a bill of £146 was left outstanding at the Barn Brasserie in Colchester on August 23.

Similar incidents were also reported at the following pubs and restaurants across the region:

•Hintlesham Hall in Hintlesham on August 9.

•The George Hintlesham on August 24.

•The Waterfront Bistro in Ipswich on September 2.

•The Swan Inn in Monks Eleigh in late October.

•The Barn Brasserie in Colchester on August 23.

The couple have been taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning where they remain.