Owners of a Chinatown restaurant say a young staff member was taken to A&E after an alleged assault linked to customers leaving without paying.

Noodle Alley, on Faulkner Street, shared CCTV on social media that it says shows a staff member chasing three customers up the stairs. The restaurant says the incident happened on Sunday 27 September, shortly after 6pm.

Owners Wendy and Ken Chen wrote that a member of staff was assaulted after trying to recover an unpaid bill and ended up in A&E with injuries to her arm and elbow. They said she had treated the customers kindly and that the episode left her emotionally affected.

"We're a small family business, and lately it feels like small businesses are being targeted again and again," they said. "But this time, it went far beyond anything we have experienced before."

Greater Manchester Police said officers received reports of an assault and people making off without paying a bill at a restaurant on Faulkner Street. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact GMP on 101 or LiveChat, quoting CRI/06A2/0030137/26, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The same restaurant reported a separate dine-and-dash incident to the Manchester Evening News in August.

Sources: Greater Manchester Police; Noodle Alley; the Manchester Evening News. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources above.