The troubled Marquess of Blandford is in danger of being seized from his hospital bed, after a magistrate issued a new warrant for his arrest.

Roger Davies, a stipendiary magistrate sitting at Horseferry Road Court in London, believes the aristocrat misled him while facing a shoplifting charge.

He spoke out after hearing that the Marquess - known to friends as Jamie - had been involved in an accident at Kiddington, near Woodstock, on Wednesday evening.

The Marquess, whose life has been plagued by drug addiction and prison, is currently in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where his condition is said to be poorly but stable. A warrant was originally issued for the Marquess's arrest on November 12 after he failed to appear at the court on a shoplifting charge. He is accused of stealing two pairs of sunglasses and a deodorant worth a total of £237 from the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge.

Lawyers for the 44-year-old son of the Duke of Marlborough wrote to the court apologising for his non-appearance.

They said he had not appeared because he was receiving treatment at the Roehampton Priory Hospital in London for other health problems.

The court agreed to withdraw the arrest warrant and adjourn the case until January - on the understanding the Marquess would remain in the Roehampton hospital. But yesterday, after calling the case, Mr Davies said: "Now we hear that he has been in Oxfordshire."

Peter Zinner, prosecuting, said: "Press reports suggest he was not in hospital at the time suggested."

Mr Davies re-activated the arrest warrant but agreed to allow bail in view of the fact that the Marquess was in hospital after the car crash.

The Marquess is thought to have smashed his head into the side window of his Toyota LandCruiser when his car collided with a Peugeot outside the Old Post Office in Kiddington, on the A44 north of Woodstock. The Peugeot driver, a 35-year-old Chipping Norton woman, also needed hospital treatment.

Story date: Saturday 11 December

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