On the run: fraudster who pretended to have cancer to avoid court

Kevin Christie is on the run after skipping an appearance for sentencing for attempting to pervert the course of justice at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Detectives have issued a picture of the wanted man and appealed for information from the public after he failed to turn up on August 14 this year.

Christie, 49, from Bournemouth was due to be sentenced for the offence, which took place in August last year when he was on trial for a fraud matter and failed to attend the court for sentencing on that occasion as well.

A letter was submitted to the court claiming to be from his doctor, stating that Christie was suffering from cancer.

An investigation into the authenticity of the letter was carried out and it was established that he did not have cancer and had prepared the letter himself.

Christie initially denied the crime but changed his plea to guilty on what was to be the first day of his trail on July 20.

A judge has now issued a warrant for his arrest.

Detective Constable Adrian Turner, of Bournemouth CID, said: "I am releasing this photo in hope that someone will know, or may have seen, where Kevin Christie is.

"While we are not encouraging people to approach Mr Christie, we want to reassure them that we have no reason to believe that he’s a threat to the general public.

"I would encourage anyone who has any information regarding his whereabouts to contact Dorset Police in confidence. I am also appealing directly to Mr Christie to make contact with me immediately."

Last year Christie, then of Argyll Road, Bournemouth, received a 14-month sentence for conning tenants out of their rent. Bournemouth Crown Court heard he was known by 24 different aliases and already had 45 convictions for 177 offences of dishonesty.

Judge John Harrow described his actions as “despicable and impudent”.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Kevin Christie should call their local police force on 101 or call 999 with any current sightings.