UK Police Are Looking For 2 'Hamburglars' Who Dined And Dashed
You may recall the days of McDonald's when Ronald McDonald was the colorful clown who delighted in wacky misadventures with his gang. Mayor McCheese, Birdie the Early Bird, Officer Big Mac, and of course, the lovable purple homunculus known as the Grimace were just some of the characters who called McDonaldland home (via Twisted). There was also that mischievous rascal, that burglar of beef, we know as the Hamburglar.
A ne'er-do-well with a love of pranks and of McDonald's burgers, the Hamburglar character appeared in slightly different forms over the years: Once he was a creepy old bandit, then he was a "lone jogger" character, and he finally emerged as the classic red-haired youth that resembled a cross between Alfred. E. Neuman and a stereotypical early 20th-century burglar (via The Atlantic). The character also briefly reappeared as a suburban dad with a side-gig of stealing McDonald's, according to Entertainment Weekly).
Fortunately, we can rest easy knowing that the Hamburglar and his battle cry of "Roble, roble!" are nothing more than fiction. At least, that is what we presumed anyway. In the United Kingdom, a duo managed to not only perform a brazen display of dining and dashing, but also a shocking display of greed and glutton — just like the Hamburglar.
The culprits ate 12 burgers before fleeing
On February 5, the duo walked into the Bite Me Burger in Wiltshire, England. They claimed they were there to undertake the restaurant's burger challenge, where customers score a free meal only if they consume 12 burgers in under six minutes. According to Talker News, upon being informed that the challenge needed to be organized in advance before arriving, the couple ordered a dozen burgers anyway. They consumed their food and left without paying the £174 (or $233 USD) bill. Although staff tried to reason with the patrons, they claimed they had completed the challenge and they should eat free. Despite being caught on CCTV entering and exiting the restaurant, it seems that police are having trouble locating the culprits.
They are now being referred to as "Britain's greediest couple" (via the Daily Mail). The police are treating the dine and dash as theft and are currently open to assistance in locating the hungry couple. Bite Me Burger's owner admitted that while he didn't want to take up the police's time, he claimed it was a "matter of principle" that those who swindled him be brought to justice, as establishments have been struggling and many restaurants are going out of business due to the pandemic. If you're in Wiltshire, it's best to keep your eyes open for any suspicious, burger-loving characters.