A former Premiership and England Under-21 footballer is being hunted by police after failing to appear in court on burglary charges.
Shaun Newton, 41, a former West Ham and Charlton player, was due to stand trial at Kingston Crown Court in October after being charged with burglary five months earlier.
He had been arrested on May 15, 2016 and charged the following day before being released on bail, Scotland Yard said.
Newton, a right winger, started his career with Charlton where he made more than 200 appearances and scored 20 goals between 1993 and 2001.
After a spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers he joined West Ham in March 2005 before finishing his career at Leicester in 2008. He also made three appearances for England U21s.
In 2006 he was suspended for seven months after testing positive for cocaine following West Ham’s FA Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough on April 23 in which he played as an 89th minute substitute.
In 2008 he was found guilty of nine counts of perverting the course of justice after accepting money from England strikers Teddy Sheringham and Bobby Zamora in exchange for “losing” speeding tickets issued to them while the three were teammates at West Ham.
Newton is said to have links to the boroughs of Merton, Croydon, Lambeth and Newham.
He is black, approximately 5ft 8ins tall with an athletic build and has cropped black hair.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call Merton police on 101 or via Twitter @MetCC. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
