David Schwimmer lookalike fails to turn up to court on charges of theft and fraud

A "lookalike" of Friends star David Schwimmer has failed to attend court on charges of theft and fraud.

A district judge in Blackpool has issued a warrant for the arrest of the suspected thief, named Abdulah Husseni.

Social media users previously pointed out the likeness to Schwimmer's character Ross Geller in the popular US sitcom when police posted an image of a man leaving a restaurant on 20 September, carrying what appeared to be a carton of beer cans.

Husseni, from Slough, had received instructions by post to come to the court for 9.30am on Tuesday.

After the 36-year-old failed to answer his summons, District Judge Jane Goodwin issued a warrant not backed for bail.

Husseni is accused of stealing a coat, a phone and a wallet from Mr Basrai's restaurant in Blackpool in September.

After Lancashire police's social media post of Husseni went viral, Schwimmer responded with his own tweet, "proving" the suspect was not him.

He also shared a video of him impersonating his own lookalike, showing him scurrying through a convenience store carrying a tray of beer before looking up furtively at a CCTV camera.

He captioned the video: "Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York.

"To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation."

He added the hashtag #itwasntme to the post.