AN arrest warrant was issued on Monday for a 24-year-old man accused of abducting two children at the start of this month.

Gareth Parker, of Abbey Drive, Enniskillen, is charged with abducting a male and a female child on July 2, 2017.

It is understood he is neither the parent nor the guardian of either child.

When he failed to appear before Fermanagh Magistrates Court on Monday, district judge Nigel Broderick issued a warrant for his arrest.

No details of the case were given at the brief hearing.

Defending counsel, Ciaran Roddy, told the court that his client was not present.

The barrister said that he had contacted the defendant’s solicitors to ascertain his whereabouts, but they had not been able to get through to him.

Mr. Roddy added that he understood Parker’s phones had been seized by police in connection with an unrelated matter.

A PSNI constable told the court that she was not the officer in charge of the case, but she was aware of the facts and circumstances.

She added that she believed she could connect the defendant to the two charges.

When district judge Nigel Broderick asked the police officer if she knew of any good reason why the defendant wasn’t at court, she replied: “No.”

The judge then issued a warrant for his arrest.