A JUDGE has ordered an arrest warrant to be served on a domestic violence offender after he failed to appear in court.

Jussia Smith was due to appear at Teesside Crown Court to face charges of breaching a suspended sentence, but when the case was called on there was no sign of the defendant.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon-Bourne Arton agreed a warrant for his arrest could be issued.

Smith, 34, whose last known address is The Mead, Darlington, was given a nine month jail sentence, suspended for two years, last year for attacking a woman following a series of violent incidents.

He was also ordered to attend a domestic violence course, although he has missed a number of appointments.