Police have arrested a “lookalike” of Friends star David Schwimmer, after he failed to attend court before Christmas.

Abdulah Husseini, 36, was initially arrested for theft in November after police shared grainy shop surveillance footage which appeared to show him hurrying past a camera with his arms full of cans of beer.

The footage went viral after the likeness to the sitcom star was pointed out. 

But following his initial arrest Husseini failed to attend a court hearing in Blackpool in December.

On Monday, Lancashire Police announced he had been taken into custody in Wimbledon, London.

In their statement Lancashire police added Husseini was also being sought by the Met, after failing to appear at court to answer a charge of handling stolen goods and an outstanding theft matter.

Social media users pointed out the likeness to Schwimmer’s character Ross Geller in the popular US sitcom when police in Blackpool posted an image of a man leaving a restaurant on 20 September and carrying what appeared to be beer cans.

Schwimmer responded by posting a video to his Twitter account that showed him scurrying through a convenience store carrying a carton of beer before looking up furtively at a CCTV camera.

He captioned the video: “Officers, I swear it wasn’t me. As you can see, I was in New York.

“To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation.”

Husseini is said to have stolen a coat, a phone and a wallet from a restaurant in Blackpool in September.

Husseini has been remanded to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on 23 January, said Lancashire Police.