An arrest warrant has been issued for an asylum seeker who tried to bring cannabis onto the Bibby Stockholm barge and then bit a police officer when he was being arrested.

Kenson Noel, aged 29, pleaded guilty at Weymouth Magistrates Court on June 7 to possession of a class B drug and assault by beating of Portland Port Police officer Christopher Grant.

The charges relate to an incident on May 16, 2024.

He was due to be sentenced today at Poole Magistrates Court but did not appear.

This triggered a warrant for his arrest to be issued by the court.

The court previously heard that Noel, whose address was given as a hotel in Bournemouth, is an asylum seeker who fled Trinidad and Tobago after being threatened by gangs.

Read more: Barge asylum seeker bit police officer after cannabis seized

The offences occurred the day he was being transferred onto the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port.