Police riot van responded after diner refused to pay for steak as it was well-done not medium

Police were called to a village pub after a customer refused to pay for her steak because it was overcooked. Nicola Kendal, 42, ordered her meat to be cooked 'medium' but when it arrived it was "very well-done and tough", she claims. When the bill came she had been charged £10 for the dish but she refused to pay. A row quickly escalated and landlady Joanne Keane pressed a discreet "panic button" under the bar - and police arrived to sort out the dispute. Nicola claims she was threatened with arrest if she did not settle the bill and reluctantly paid up.



The management of the White Hart Inn at Iron Acton, south Gloucestershire, claim they were forced to call the police because she was being threatening. But Nicola, from nearby Frampton Cotterell, denies this and claims the landlady was "rude and aggressive". She said: "I had ordered a medium steak and when it came out I thought it was very well-done, overcooked and tough. A few minutes later I said to the waiter that I wasn't happy with the meal and the landlady came over and was rude and aggressive." She was offered a fresh steak in exchange but says she refused it because she did not want to be eating after her friends had finished. "Then the bill came and I saw that she had charged me £10 for the steak," she said.



"We paid the rest of the bill, but I went over to her and said, 'I'm sorry, but I am not paying anything for my meal.' It went back and forth for a bit, and all of a sudden her partner said 'I've pressed the button, no one is leaving until the police arrive'. By this point I was scared and crying. I just couldn't understand what was happening." The pub was placed into lockdown and Nicola claims two police cars and a "riot van" arrived shortly after 9.30pm last Thursday. Nicola claims she was threatened with arrest if she did not pay the outstanding £9.99. She said: "I was just so shaken by it at this point. I eventually paid the money so I could just get out of there. My partner and my friends were horrified and gobsmacked by the situation. The landlady didn't say outright that I was barred, but suffice to say I won't be going back."



The publican insisted Nicola was "lairy and aggressive" during the row and she had a sense she would complain when she arrived. Joanne said: "She was rude to my young staff and we called the police because it was a situation I couldn't control. We have been in the pub for five years and this is the first time I have had to call the police in. I have never had someone go off the boil like that." A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said: "An alarm was raised at 9.35pm following a disturbance at the pub. Officers attended and, after establishing no offences were committed, left shortly after 10pm." Mother-of-two Nicola added: "It was overcooked - I asked for it medium and it was very well-done. But they wouldn't let us out of the building until the police came. I feel totally humiliated and embarrassed because the police were called for the sake of £10."