THE top judge in Worcester says a backlog is causing distress for crime victims as some city cases are sent to a new Nightingale Court in Cirencester.

Judge James Burbidge QC, Worcester's most senior judge, urged advocates to make best use of the time available during trials at Worcester Crown Court as courts up and down the land wrestle a large backlog of cases exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Worcester court has been using courts at Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre, Birmingham Crown Court, Nottingham Crown Court, Telford Justice Centre a Wolverhampton Combined Court. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "We use additional venues to hold as many hearings as possible in response to coronavirus."

Cirencester’s courthouse reopened as a Nightingale Court on January 25 this year and staff at the Worcester court have confirmed that some cases from the city have been heard there. Cirencester is 40 miles from Worcester with a journey taking over two hours and a half hours on public transport, including train and bus. The drive takes around 46 minutes.

Judge Burbidge, speaking at court earlier this month, said: "I'm having to tell complainants in November their cases will not be heard. It's extremely distressing on a daily basis."

Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl offered the Cirencester building back to HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) as a temporary means of reducing the backlog of cases which have more than doubled in Gloucestershire during the pandemic.

The building ceased to operate in 2012 as part of a Ministry of Justice closure programme which saw many of Gloucestershire’s local courts axed.

We reported in January how all four of Her Majesty’s Justice Chief Inspectors united to express “grave concerns” about the potential long-term impact of the backlog which by then had soared to 53,000 cases nationally during the pandemic. By June the backlog had risen to nearly 60,000 cases.

High profile cases at Worcester Crown Court, including murder and rape trials, are among the cases delayed by the pandemic.

Last year the murder trial of Martin Saberi, 53, was delayed until February this year because of the pandemic.

Saberi ultimately admitted the murder of a transgender woman - 51-year-old Amy Griffiths - in a flat in Chalverton Court, Droitwich between January 11 and January 14, 2019. He was given a life sentence in March. He must serve a minimum of 24 years and 10 months.