POLICE have renewed their appeal for information on the whereabouts of a man accused of fraud and perverting the course of justice in relation to the theft of £20,000 from a village church.

Peter Taylor, 58, was due to stand trial at Durham Crown Court in October last year, but failed to attend. As a result, a warrant for his arrest was issued by the court.

Mr Taylor is also known to go by the name of Peter Love and Michael Taylor. His last known whereabouts was in the Gateshead area. He was described at a previous court hearing as an accountant and “associate” of co-accused Frank Michael Pocock.

Pocock, 62, of Wilks Hill, Quebec, near Durham, has already admitted the theft of £20,000, while acting as treasurer at St Michael and All Angel’s Church in nearby Esh Village, between March 2014 and 2015.

Inquiries were sparked when the church discovered it had insufficient funds to meet payment for a replacement central heating system, and Pocock’s activities began to come to light.

Following his guilty pleas, Pocock was due to be sentenced after the outcome of the trial of Taylor, of Eslington Court, Gateshead.

Taylor faces five charges of fraud, relating to withdrawals of amounts of the allegedly stolen cash, from a Co-op Bank account.

Both Pocock and Taylor previously admitted perverting the course of justice, in a bid to conceal the theft of the money from the church, in 2015.

Detective Constable Jenna Cook, of Consett CID, said: “Numerous attempts have been made to locate Mr Taylor who is now at large and avoiding all police contact.”

Anyone with information should contact Durham Police on 101.