A HIGH Court judge is appealing to the public for help in tracing an Edgware man who is on the run with his two daughters.

Yousif Esmail Najjar of Bredon Court, who holds Swedish nationality, failed to appear at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on June 15 for an extradition hearing in connection with the alleged abduction of the girls, who are ten and 14, in 1995. His ex-wife Fatiha Omar Fnina, who is also Swedish, wants the girls returned to her.

On Saturday, Lord Justice Coleridge lifted reporting restrictions which had been imposed on the case to allow him to make the call for the public's help in finding Mr Najjar.

Police this week quashed newspaper reports that an extradition squad which visited Mr Najjar's home had uncovered Islamic fundamentalist material.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We asked the extradition squad about that and they had no knowledge of any search finding Islamic fundamentalist paraphernalia, let alone passing it on to the anti-terrorist squad."

Mr Najjar's neighbours said he always took time to talk to them, and one, who asked not to be named, added: "He always said good morning' to me and always passed the time of day. He was always quite pleasant, but mainly they kept themselves to themselves.

Another neighbour said: "He seemed very nice and quiet."