Knives, candles, a toilet roll holder complete with screws and Rawlplugs – that’s just some of the stuff Michelin-starred restaurants in France complained about clients nicking in a recent news report. I’m not sure why the screws were presented as the ultimate absurdity – if you want to use your stolen toilet roll holder, you’ll need them – it’s just common sense!

A Québécois restaurateur complained about similar thefts in July – a picnic table, a painting and even the thermostat had been pinched – and British restaurateurs confirm it happens in the UK, too. Jan Ostle of Wilsons in Bristol told the BBC’s World at One that the........

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