AN arrest warrant has been issued for a man charged with falsifying accounts after he consistently failed to appear in court.

Azrael Johnson was due to appear before Worcester Magistrates yesterday on a charge of false accounting but, again, failed to show up.

The 30-year-old, of Liverpool Road, Worcester, is alleged to have falsified a document on December 31, 2003, but has failed to appear in court on seven occasions, saying he has a respiratory problem.

This was backed up by three sick notes but the notes only excused him from work, not from appearing in court.

Sue Jones, chairman of the bench, said the prosecution must "seek more medical information" from the doctors involved, and issued a warrant for Johnson's arrest.