Hastings restaurant that is favourite of Who singer Roger Daltrey left counting the cost after customers refuse to pay

The incident happened last Sunday. Restaurant owner Aldo Esposito said a group ordered more than £400 of food and drink and then refused to pay.

He said they falsely claimed they had found plastic in their food.

He added: “The police came and negotiated with them and they managed to recover £60 for us.”

He also issued a warning to other local businesses and said: “This is the third time we have been hit by groups like this in the last couple of months, so please be aware.”

A fellow Hastings businessman commented: “Several places in the Old Town have been hit by the same people according to Facebook posts. I love Aldo, who runs la Bell Vista. I bumped into him one evening and he was taking two elderly customers home and then going back to work. A top guy.”

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “We can confirm we are investigating a report of a group of people making off without payment from a restaurant in St Leonards.

"The group are alleged to have left La Bella Vista in Grand Parade around 5pm on Sunday 7 January without paying for their meal. A member of staff also reported being assaulted.

“Officers have attended the premises and engaged with staff and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to report it online or call 101, quoting serial 748 of 07/01.

Roger Daltrey, 79, who owns a micro-brewery in Sussex, is a regular at La Bella Vista and told Waitrose Food Magazine: “There’s a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Hastings called La Bella Vista – I’m a massive fan of the town. There’s something funky and down to earth about it that suits me. Eating out with the banter going on, people laughing, the bonhomie - it’s wonderful!”

La Bella Vista specialises in contemporary Italian dishes, and is run by Aldo Esposito, his wife Deborah, and brother Franco. The family have owned it since 2015.

They use fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, including fish landed by Hastings’ beach-launched fishing fleet.

Have you read? Bexhill pub launches new menu with top London chef who is friends with Nigella Lawson”

Have you read? Popular Hastings area plant nursery is closing down