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Staff at a Thai restaurant in Gloucester were left almost in tears after suffering xenophobic abuse from a customer who refused to pay for a meal.

Bangkok Canteen owner Kittima Manmaunjun said a couple who appeared to be in their 30s booked a table at the Westgate Street restaurant for 7pm last night.

The man and woman left without paying the £68.50 bill for their food, having complained about the quality, despite eating all of it.

Ms Manmaunjun said: “The woman insulted me and said I should go back to where I came from and learn English laws.

“She was being really rude. She insulted my two waitresses and said, ‘Even on minimum wage you have to know English laws,’ even though they are both British girls.

“It was a shock. Our staff nearly cried. They had never seen anything like it before.”

The pair both had Thai fishcakes for starters and ate all of them, but they then complained to Ms Manmaunjun that they did not want to pay for the food because it had been too chewy.

“I said I couldn’t refund because they didn’t let us know after the first bite something was not right,” the owner said.

“The woman said we have to admit the criticism, but I said they have to be fair to us. They had everything from the plate, even the decoration flowers.

“Normally we are happy to change it and not charge, but they ate all of it. You can’t return an empty box of chocolates to the supermarket.

“We served lots of people that night and everyone was happy.”

Ms Manmaunjun then suggested the customers should not have a main course, to avoid any more trouble.

The man replied that they would pay and said: “Just give us the main meal.”

The woman ordered a jumbo Tom Yum soup and the man had a massaman curry.

Ms Manmaunjun said: “They both finished them and nothing was left, not even the sauce.”

The woman then went to the bar to pay and told the owner she would only pay £60 of the £68.50 bill.

She said the food was only worth £60, but Ms Manmaunjun told her she must pay for the meal in full.

The woman then made the xenophobic comments to the owner and her staff, as well as blocking them and other customers from walking past her.

(Image: Rob Lacey)

Ms Manmaunjun added: “It made the staff stressed and sad and angry.

“The man backed her up at the counter and said, ‘We are not satisfied so we don’t have to pay.’

“The woman said she was a consumer so she could do whatever she wanted.”

The owner then called the police, but as soon as the operator picked up the couple fled without paying any money towards the bill.

“The woman had told other customers we were rude, but those customers came and gave me a hug afterwards,” Ms Manmaunjun said.

The restaurateur was told by police that officers would collect and analyse the CCTV footage of the incident.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has been approached for further details.