A WARRANT has been issued for the arrest of a man convicted of stealing a 'silent soldier' war tribute from outside a Poole funeral business.

Robert John Bell, who is of no fixed abode, was due to appear at Poole Magistrates' Court this week for a trial after pleading not guilty to the theft.

However, he allegedly failed to appear, and was convicted in his absence of taking the Tommy from outside the Ives and Shand business in Ashley Road, Parkstone on November 1 last year.

Magistrates have issued a warrant for the defendant's arrest. He has also been charged with a separate count of failing to surrender to custody on January 22, the day of the trial.

Bell, 44, was charged after a man was captured on CCTV putting the tribute over his shoulder before cycling off with it in the middle of the night.

The statue was swiped at around 3.50am.

Luckily, a resident living nearby – who serves in the military – found the five-foot tall silhouette and took it for safekeeping.

Marcella McDonagh, funeral director at the branch, told the Daily Echo last year: “We bought the soldier last year to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

“People very much liked the fact we were doing our bit to remember those lost."