(CNN) -- A "dangerously radioactive" teacher facing charges of child pornography is being hunted by UK police, media reported Friday.

Police are searching for Thomas Leopold, 42, of Hammersmith, west London, the UK Press Association reported.

Leopold, who had been given high doses of radiation as treatment for a thyroid condition, was scheduled to stand trial on February 9 but failed to appear in court, media reported.

He had been accused of five charges of creating and possessing child porn in 2006, the agency added.

Judge John Price, issuing a warrant at Southwark Crown Court, London, for Leopold's said in comments reported by PA: "Please warn officers that when he is arrested he might be radioactive. This is not a joke."

"We would appeal for anyone who knows his whereabouts to contact police," a spokesman for Scotland Yard said Friday.

CNN