MAGISTRATES have issued an arrest warrant for two defendants accused of theft at a high street fashion retailer.

Lawrence Blundell and Stephen Olliffe are accused of stealing £168 of products from an Oliver Bonas store in Bond Street, Chelmsford on Friday, April 19.

The pair also face a second charge of stealing £39.58 worth of tinned fish from a Co-Op in Duke Street the same day.

After Blundell, 43, and Olliffe, 51, did not show up for their hearing at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, magistrates issued an arrest warrant meaning police have permission to arrest the pair or search their properties.

Blundell, of North Road in Clacton, and Olliffe, of no fixed address, are expected to appear before the same court later this year.