ROCCARASO – A brawl erupted at a New Year’s Eve dinner table in a restaurant in the Abruzzo region, climaxing with scores of Neapolitan tourists running away without paying the bill for their drunken stuff-up,  police said.

 On Saturday, a bus full of tourists from Naples and Caserta arrived in the town of Roccaraso in the province of L’Aquila, central Italy, where they had made a reservation for a dinner table for about 50 people. As the meal was about to come to an end, some of the youngest men started a fight that involved the restaurant’s staff,  as they tried to prevent the situation from escalating. 

 Police officers were called on scene, but the culprits were already long gone upon their arrival – without paying the bill. Amongst the staff three of the waiters and the owner were hurt, as well as some of the guests that found themselves there trying to calm the situation down. 

 Carabinieri who were on scene said they will try to trace the identity of the scrounging tourists, but that it will be hard as the only piece of information they have is the phone number used to reserve the table. 

   jp-nk