A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a “lookalike” of Friends star David Schwimmer after he failed to attend court.

Abdulah Husseni, 36, of Spencer Road, Slough, had been summonsed to appear at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday accused of theft and fraud.

District Judge Jane Goodwin issued a warrant not backed for bail after Husseni failed to answer his summons.

Blackpool Magistrates' Court
Blackpool Magistrates’ Court (Dave Thompson/PA)

He had received instructions by post to attend court for 9.30am.

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

Schwimmer responded by posting a video to his Twitter account that showed 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.

Husseni is said to have stolen a coat, a phone and a wallet from Mr Basrai’s restaurant in Blackpool.