A accused of sexually assaulting a woman has fled the UK. Adnan Ahmed was due to appear before Weymouth magistrates in December after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman at a Bed and Breakfast in , in August of last year.

After he failed to turn up to his court appearance, magistrates issued a warrant for his arrest after being told nobody knew his whereabouts or how to contact him. However, prosecutors have now dropped the charges against Ahmed after admitting that the 37-year-old has fled the country. A CPS spokeswoman said: "It was determined the case could no longer continue."

Rob Bates of the Centre for Migration Control told The Sun: "Ahmed should never have been released back into the community after his arrest."

At the time of the alleged assault, the migrant was living on the Bibby Stockholm barge, which was used to house asylum seekers. A summons was sent to the barge on November 2 last year, instructing Ahmed to appear in court the following month.

After failing to appear, Natalie Evans, the court clerk, said: "Mr Ahmed is not here. He was on conditional bail to be here. We don't know where he is now that [Bibby Stockholm] has been vacated. He was charged by the police and given conditional bail on November 2. He was meant to be here at 10am."

In October 2024, more than 300 barge residents were moved, which the Government announced was to close following the General Election in July.

Since 2023, at least four other ex-Bibby Stockholm occupants have appeared in court, The Sun reports.

Ahmed is not the only asylum seeker who has failed to appear - Moffat Konofilia did not turn up to Weymouth Magistrates' after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman on Weymouth beach. A summons was sent to Konofilia, 47, on October 31, 2024, yet the court heard he struggled to attend as he couldn't drive and had no money.

He was invited to apply to change the venue of the court or to appear via video link, but he did not respond, so a warrant for his arrest was also issued.