A fraudster facing jail for conning £40,000 from his bosses was on the run last night.

Salesman Paul Hepple was due before Newcastle Crown Court yesterday after admitting a cunning scam at Akyo Nobel paintmakers in Gateshead.

But the 25-year-old failed to turn up and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Hepple, of Gladstone Terrace, Sulgrave, Washington, Wearside, admitted defrauding his employers at an earlier hearing.

He took the money in a bonus scam in which he diverted cheques into his own pocket at amounts of up to £5,000.

He was caught when he claimed expences for a training course he had not attended