FUGITIVES who think they pulled the wool over the eyes of the judicial process by absconding while on bail were paid a visit by police officers.

Officers made 17 arrests in Halton last week during Operation Turn Up, which aimed to drag people who had skipped bail back before the courts.

Bail bandits cause misery for victims and witnesses and waste the time of the courts.

The operation was designed to mop up the offenders who thought they'd got away.

Failure to appear warrants are issued when a person does not appear in court on a given date. When they finally appear before in court they are dealt with immediately for failing to appear and may receive a jail sentence.

Chief Inspector Dougie Shaw, Halton's operations manager, said: 'If you have not turned up at court, you should surrender immediately and credit may be given to you when you do appear in court.

'If you choose not to, we will find you and take you to court to face justice.'

He added: 'Anyone who has a court appearance coming up should make sure they attend to avoid police officers turning up at their home, place of work or even where they socialise. This could be embarrassing and our advice is to turn up as we will not tolerate no-shows.'