A WARRANT has been issued for the arrest of a former Bournemouth councillor’s wife after she failed to appear before magistrates yesterday.

Planning consultant Harriet Ramsden-Geary, 39, from Western Road, Poole, had been due to face a charge of aiding/abetting an undischarged bankrupt to manage a company between January 27, 2004, and February 5, 2009.

The charge relates to her husband, former councillor and Bournemouth-based Planning Solutions director Anthony Ramsden-Geary, who is due to stand trial at Bournemouth Crown Court later this year.

The mother-of-two has also been charged with re-using a prohibited company name without leave of court between February 4, 2009, and January 5, 2010, and making an omission in statement of company affairs on July 6, 2009.

Prosecuting at Bournemouth magistrates’ court yesterday, on behalf of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, Francisca da Costa said the case had been listed for committal proceedings after Harriet Ramsden-Geary had indicated not guilty pleas.

She added: “I’ve seen a note from Mrs Ramsden indicating she is suffering from sickness and depression but her Twitter account indicates she is in Rome – the last Tweet was today.”

Ms Francisca da Costa applied for a warrant, not backed for bail.

Opposing the application, Robert Renshaw asked for a further adjournment of the proceedings and referred to a letter from his client’s GP.

He added that Mr Ramsden-Geary had indicated that he was also going to plead not guilty during his trial which is likely to take place in November.

Issuing a warrant for Mrs Ramsden-Geary’s arrest, chairman of the bench Ms Susan Thurston said: “Hopefully, that will inspire this young lady to come to court.”

Mrs Ramsden-Geary will be on bail but must appear in court within seven days of her arrest.

Yesterday, her shocked husband told the Daily Echo: “Harriet is not in the country; she has gone away for a couple of days because she isn’t well.”