POLICE were searching for a convicted criminal today after he absconded from magistrates' court half-an-hour after being sentenced to ten weeks in jail.

Paul Carr, 45, from Skipton, had been asked to sit at the back of the town's courthouse and then given permission to visit the lavatory.

Shortly afterwards, magistrates were told he had informed court security officers he was "going to Lloyds to get his prescription". Police were alerted for Carr's immediate arrest.

Carr, of Western Road, had pleaded guilty to jointly stealing a handbag on June 6 this year, containing a purse and a quantity of cash, from a car belonging to Carol Boothman.

As well as being given a jail sentence, he was ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge, £180 criminal court charge and £500 compensation.

The bench was told Carr, who was already serving community service imposed in January this year, and another man, were seen rummaging about in a car by the owner as he looked from the window of his home in the early hours of the morning.

He gave chase and caught Carr, while the other man made his escape. When police arrived, they learned about £800 in cash was missing along with a number of other items, including a handbag, bracelet and car keys.

Before sentence, the bench was informed Carr was a heavy drugs user and had volunteered to to carry a police 'buddy tag', which enabled officers to track his movements.

He was intoxicated at the time of the offence, and it was his accomplice who had committed the theft and got away with the goods.