Diners' surprising letter to restaurant owner after leaving without paying their bill

A restaurant owner in England was left "gobsmacked" after a group of diners who left his restaurant without paying their bill later wrote him a letter apologising for their mistake.

Three men had walked out of a Middlesborough restaurant called Kilimandjaro after failing to pay for meals worth 35 pounds, or $60.

But five days later, the restaurant owner Apollo Apollinaire received a letter profusely apologising for leaving without squaring up.

Signed by "Tom, Alex and Harry," the letter explains that the trio were running late for a train and forgot to pay the bill, "which is very unlike us."

"Our meal, consisting of two Waka Waka Chickens with Cheese and one Waka Waka Chicken came to a total of 35 pounds," the letter states.

After being told the restaurant did not accept payment by credit card, the diners said they would find a nearby ATM to withdraw cash.

After searching for some time, they realised the last train for the night was about to depart.

"This diverted our attention away from finding an ATM machine [sic] and led to us running down to the train station and just making our train," the letter continues.

"It was at this point, being too late, we realised our actions and decided to write this letter of apology with 40 pounds enclosed in this envelope.

"It is our deepest regret that not being from Middlesborough we are not able to come into Kilamanjaros in person to apologise.

"Additionally, we will be giving a positive five-star review of your establishment on TripAdvisor."

Mr Apollinaire said he was touched by the honesty and the apology, thinking the trio had just "done a runner."

After posting about the incident on his restaurant's Facebook page, writing "there are honest people out there too," many people commented appreciatively on the good deed.

"Faith in humanity restored," one user wrote.

Mr Apollinaire has since asked the three men back to his restaurant - for a free meal.