Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest were found in Bordeaux, France (Sussex Police)
Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest were found in Bordeaux, France (Sussex Police) Sussex Police

The teacher who ran away to France with 15-year-old girl Megan Stammers may have used his wife's passport to take her out of the country.

Jeremy Forrest, 30, has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction after disappearing with the teenager to France. The pair were eventually found in Bordeaux following extensive appeals in Britain and France.

It is thought that Forrest may have taken his wife Emily's passport and used it to take the schoolgirl abroad.

The European Arrest Warrant for Forrest states: "The passport is missing and it is believed that Megan may have used this passport [when] boarding the ferry."

It added that the ferry passenger record showed Stammers had travelled under the name of "Ms E Forrest".

Eric Augier, the manager of the Hotel Choiseul where the pair had been staying, said that Forrest had checked in under the name of Jack Grant.

Stammers has returned to her family in the UK. Forrest is being held in a French prison pending a court hearing.

Forrest's lawyer, Daniel Lalann, said his client would not oppose being handed over to British authorities to face charges.

It had previously been reported that Stammers had used her 37-year-old mother's passport to board the Dover-Calais ferry.

An investigation has been launched into how the 15-year-old was able to board a cross-Channel vessel using someone else's passport.