A suspected thief who resembles the Friends star David Schwimmer has been arrested after failing to appear in court before Christmas.

An arrest warrant was issued last month for Abdulah Husseini, 36, from Slough, after he did not attend a hearing in Blackpool over allegations of theft and fraud.

Lancashire police said on Monday that Husseini was arrested by the Metropolitan police in Wimbledon, south-west London, last week. The force said the Met had also been seeking him for failing to appear in court to answer a charge of handling stolen goods and another outstanding theft matter.

In October, Lancashire police were flooded with comments on social media after they posted an image of a suspect wanted over the theft of items from a restaurant in Blackpool.

The photo, which showed the man carrying a cardboard tray of beers, went viral after people noticed his resemblance to Schwimmer’s character Ross Geller.

Schwimmer made a video recreating the CCTV image and tweeted it with the message: “Officers, I swear it wasn’t me. As you can see, I was in New York. To the hardworking Blackpool police, good luck with the investigation.”

Husseini was accused of stealing a coat, a phone and a wallet from Mr Basrai’s restaurant in Blackpool on 20 September. He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Wimbledon magistrates court on Wednesday.