A former Labour Party secretary who secretly filmed men urinating in shopping centre toilets missed his sentencing hearing to jet off on holiday to Turkey.

A judge at Croydon Magistrates' Court this morning issued an arrest warrant for David Christison, who admitted videoing and photographing men at Centrale shopping centre for his sexual pleasure on at least 30 occasions.

Christison, a council candidate in Waddon at 2010 election, pleaded guilty to two counts of observing a person doing a private act in February. 

The 44-year-old, of Dunheved Road South, Thornton Heath, today failed to attend his sentencing hearing for the third time.

His skipped this morning's hearing because he was on holiday in Alanya, a popular Turkish beach resort.

Christison, who posted photos of the resort on his Facebook page this week, had written to the court to explain his absence.

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Christison posted photos of his holiday on Facebook

But his excuse was dismissed as inadequate by a judge, who ordered Christison's arrest.

Christison was removed from his position as Labour ward secretary for West Thornton and suspended from the party in March after pleading guilty to the offences.

He was arrested in April 2013 after a member of the public reported him behaving suspiciously to a Centrale security guard.

Staff called the police, who inspected Christison's mobile phone and found a video of a man urinating in a urinal.

Officers who searched Christison's home found laptops with 29 similar videos dating back to 2011.

He will return to Croydon Magistrates' Court on March 20 for sentencing and was granted bail on the condition he does not use Centrale's public toilets.