A pub which falsely accused a family of running off and not paying £150 for their food bill has been ordered by a court to pay £75,000 in damages. A post from bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire, condemned the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr who had been dining with their adult children.

The post claimed the group of four ate two £27 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, and drank real ales and lagers. The post included CCTV images and was picked up by the media and used in press reports where they were referred to as 'dine-and-dashers'.

It later emerged that the family did pay the bill in full, and a mistake by staff member meant it was not rung through the till.

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At Belfast Crown Court the family, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, sued the pub, saying they had suffered significant embarrassment and reputational damage.

The family's barrister Peter Girvan told the court: "These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150.

"The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis."

The pub accepted there was "no basis whatsoever" for the allegations and apologised, the court heard. It agreed to pay £75,000 in damages as well as the family's legal costs, as part of a settlement agreement.

Reading a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said the McGirr's had been "vindicated". He added they were "very satisfied with the settlement" as compensation for "defamation of their character".

A statement issued by the pub in July last year read: "We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal.

"There was no dishonesty involved from our staff, it was an honest mistake but we have dismissed the member of staff responsible for the error."