A court has issued an arrest warrant for an Ilkley businessman who has allegedly been in an induced coma.
Magistrates were told that there was no evidence that he was in hospital, and heard that there had apparently been a recent sighting of him in a Tesco.
Peter Etherington, 68, was due to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court on Friday to answer a charge brought by the Insolvency Service.
He is charged with being involved in the running of a company, PP Global Media Ltd, while being banned from acting as a company director by an existing court order.
The charge relates to a period between April 2019 and October 2022.
Etherington, of Belle Vue, Ilkley, did not appear at Court on Friday, and Mrs Clegg, prosecuting on behalf of the Insolvency Service, said his absence was “not unexpected.”
She told the court:
"This is the second listing of this case. It was originally due to be in court on October 24. But on that occasion the defendant sent a letter to say he was due to undergo surgery. Although there were some concerns about this letter and the form it took, we were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“On December 15 we emailed him to remind him of today’s hearing. We received a response purporting to be from his daughter claiming he was in hospital in an induced coma.
“We asked for medical evidence, but no evidence has been provided.”
She said the service made checks with numerous local hospitals, including St James and Leeds General Infirmary.
Mrs Clegg said:
“The hospitals said although he was registered as a patient, he had not been an in patient recently.”
She said there had been recent online activity related to Etherington’s legal affairs.
She added:
“He signed papers the day we got the email. There were also updates on his Facebook page on December 21 and 22.
“There is also information to suggest he has been seen in Tesco.”
She asked the court to issue a warrant for Etherington’s arrest, and pointed out that the charge was one that could lead to a prison sentence.
Magistrates said there was nothing to corroborate the claim that the defendant was in hospital in an induced coma.
They credited the Insolvency Service for their efforts to track down which hospital the defendant was in.
They issued a warrant for Etherington’s arrest.
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