This hirsute scammer failed to finesse her mane course con.

Restaurant owner Tom Croft caught a sleazy customer putting hair in their food in an attempt to score a free meal on security cameras.

“There are people out there that are willing to put a business’ reputation and staff’s jobs at risk for a $15.88 meal,” Croft told Southwest News Service.

Croft, 32, had to refund a fraudster’s beef roast dinner at the restaurant, Observatory, in Blackburn, England, after she caused a scene at the bar to alert the staff about hair in her food.

With over five years working in the industry, Croft said he’s never seen such a hairy mishap in his kitchens, so he decided to check the CCTV security cameras.

“We reviewed the footage to see what had gone wrong, in case a member of staff didn’t have their hair tied back or whatever, but then we found the clip,” he shared.

His concern turned to indignation as the video confirmed his staff member’s hair was fully tied back and away from the food — but the purported victim’s hair was not.

Footage showed the criminal customer whispering to a man before she yanked out a strand of hair and placed it on her nearly half-eaten plate.

“I was disgusted and very angry,” he declared. “We’ve not had anything happen like this before.”
Frustrated by the incident.

Unfortunately by the time Croft caught on to her low-down deed she had long left the establishment with her refund.

The barman said her allegation could have hurt his business. “If we hadn’t found the CCTV footage, then our reputation would be a major concern and a big worry,” he added.

The pub boss prides himself in customer service, good reputation, and cleanliness.

“We have a five-star food hygiene rating and adhere to all the food safety guidelines,” he said. “People don’t want to eat in places where you find hair in food.”

Croft is glad he followed his instinct to check the CCTV footage and confirmed his employees made no mistake.

“The kitchen team could have then thought it was their fault when they had done absolutely nothing wrong,” he continued.

As a business owner, he’s often faced with many unforeseen circumstances, he said, but never imagined this.

“You need to keep your eyes out, not just for these two people but incidents of a similar nature,” Croft advised. “There are people out there who are willing to chance this with another business.”

“I just want to obviously warn other businesses to keep being vigilant.”