A restaurant has named and shamed customers who failed to turn up for bookings, as some blamed the ease of online booking for a trend of 'no shows'.

The Cauldron in Bristol named and shamed a list of people who did not show up for their booking. It is unclear why they did not take their tables; and restaurants have acknowledged that sometimes emergencies cannot be helped.

However, the owner, Henry Eldon, who was praised by many in the industry for his tweet, said there is an attitude towards bookings that needs to change, and the scourge of no-shows is hitting local businesses hard.

Other restaurants have also had to take action to combat the trend, with some now charging for the whole meal in advance on special occasions. Online booking service OpenTable has put strict measures in place, meaning people who repeatedly fail to turn up to their bookings are banned from using the service.

Mr Eldon told The Telegraph the laissez-faire attitude towards bookings is squeezing local businesses, explaining: "It just gets to the point that as a business that people don't seem to care that we will end up losing out.