A WARRANT without bail has been issued for the arrest of drug pusher Clifford Curtis after he failed to turn up at Swindon Crown Court.

The 25year-old, of Cowleaze Crescent, in Wroughton, was due to be sentenced alongside four other men at the start of the month.

But a doctor's note was produced saying Curtis was on a detox programme meaning he could not work. A similar note was sent to the court on May 19 when Judge Tom Longbotham observed the defendant didn't work anyway.

The judge issued a warrant without bail but said he would not issue it until Monday morning, giving Curtis a chance to attend court.

But the defendant, who had admitted a charge of offering to supply heroin at an earlier hearing before magistrates, failed to make it to the hearing. The warrant for his arrest has now been issued.

Curtis was arrested after Operation Defy where undercover police officers infiltrated town centre drug users and conducted test purchases.

He offered to supply one of the officers candle wax claiming it was heroin.