Customers at a popular Old Town restaurant got a glimpse into what life might be like without workers from overseas on Monday night.

Foreign-born staff at Los Gatos on Devizes Road were given the night off as part of One Day Without Us, a national day of action to illustrate the contribution of migrants to the UK.

Customers were also given a special illustrative Brexit menu to show how prices and the availability of food might change following our exit from the EU.

Co-owner Shareen Campbell said: “Here at Los Gatos, the majority of our front of house and kitchen staff come from abroad.

“Some have migrated to the UK for love or family reasons, others for economic reasons, some because of repression in their countries of birth.

“Many of our regular customers praise us for the standards of service that our staff offer, and for the atmosphere they help create.

“Today, we are supporting them by giving all our non-UK employees the day off, to show what Los Gatos would be like without them.

“They will be marking the day in their own way.”

And the staff did exactly that.

Rather than spend their surprise day off putting their feet up, they came in to prepare a selection of French and Spanish dishes to donate to a special lunch event at the Broadgreen Community Centre.

Bar manager Maxime Migné, from France, tweeted his appreciation for how the Los Gatos team had chosen to mark One Day Without Us.

He also offered his own message for those quick to slam the contribution of those from overseas.

“At Los Gatos, we’ve been in Swindon for two, 10, and 15 years,” he said.

“We are working and pay tax, we aren’t here for five minutes to take all your benefits.”

Los Gatos ran for the night with just Shareen, fellow co-owner Phil Saunter and Phil’s daughter Lucy on the restaurant floor.

Three of the English members of the team manned the kitchen and even a customer volunteered to get onboard and wash the dishes.

Ahead of the event, Shareen said: “We apologise if service is a little slower than usual.

“We will do our best, but we will miss our wonderful staff, and we think you will too.”

While the normal Los Gatos selection was available as normal on the night, diners were given a glimpse of what life could be like in the not-too-distant future thanks to the Brexit vote.

The ‘Brexit menu’ showed price inflations of some 20 per cent to illustrate the strains that facing tariffs and rising costs could mean if Britain leaves the single market.