A man arrested by police looking for a suspected thief with a resemblance to Friends actor David Schwimmer will appear in court next month.

Abdulah Husseni, 36, of Spencer Road, Slough, west London, has been summonsed to appear at Blackpool Magistrates' Court on December 18, accused of theft and fraud, said Lancashire Police.

Social media users pointed out the likeness to Schwimmer's character Ross Geller in the popular US sitcom when police in Blackpool posted an image of a man leaving a restaurant and carrying what appeared to be a carton of beer cans.

Schwimmer later responded to the picture by posting a video to his Twitter account that showed him scurrying through a convenience store carrying a carton of beer before looking up furtively at a CCTV camera.

He captioned the video: "Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York.

"To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation."

He added the hashtag #itwasntme to the post.

Husseini is said to have stolen a coat, a phone and a wallet from Mr Basrai's restaurant in Blackpool on September 20.

On Monday, Lancashire Police tweeted: "Abdulah Husseini, 36, of Spencer Road, Slough, has been summonsed to appear at Blackpool Mags on 18 Dec accused of theft & fraud after items were stolen from Mr Basrai's restaurant, Blackpool on Sept 20th. Our appeal was shared internationally. Thx for your support."