A man has been caught on CCTV releasing his pet rat in a restaurant to avoid paying for his Valentine's Day meal.
Christopher Baker, 28, had eaten and paid for his meal at the Borneo Bistro in Sunderland, when he reached into his jacket pocket and released the rat under the table.
"It's a rat. I'm not eating here, I want my money back," he shouted. Embarrassed staff quickly apologised and gave Baker a full refund.
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However, when pest control arrived and examined the rat, they concluded that it could not be a wild rodent, as it had recently been given "a hair cut".
"It was a black and white rat, very calm. It did not appear to be wild at all. Acorn Pest Control attended and they said it appeared to be a pet," prosecutor Lee Poppett said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Bistro owner Kevin Smith examined the CCTV footage and confirmed that Baker had released the animal himself. He said the potential damage to his restaurant's reputation could have been "catastrophic".
"He is just the scum of the earth. He could have destroyed the reputation I have built up over seven years," said Smith. "I find it unbelievable that someone could be willing to go to those lengths for a free meal."
In court, it emerged that Baker had been "drinking heavily" and had bought the rat as a present for his daughter before his meal.
Baker admitted to fraud and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and forced to pay the restaurant £7.25 for the meal and a further £60 in compensation.
The rat was taken away by a pest control company, which promised to release it into the wild.
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