Cases disrupted as courts become ‘unusable’ in blistering heatwave

Cases disrupted as courts become ‘unusable’ in blistering heatwave Some hearings are being moved to video calls - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Legal cases in the UK have been disrupted as courts have become ‘unusable’ in the third heatwave of the summer. The UK entered its third heatwave in as many months on Monday, with warning of disruption to many walks of life. South-east England officially met the heatwave criteria on Monday evening, after three days of temperatures above 28C, the Met Office said. Temperatures are set to continue to rise across the UK throughout the week, and more regions are likely to reach their local heatwave thresholds, the forecaster added. Parts of southern England could see temperature highs of about 33C on Wednesday and 34C on Thursday, with the highest readings of 35C forecast for isolated areas on Friday and Saturday. While southern areas are already feeling the sun and the heat, a north-south divide will persist through the first half of the week, according to the forecaster. The hot weather affected some court hearings, with parts of Bristol Crown Court “unusable” due to high temperatures, Mr Justice Cavanagh told a jury on Wednesday afternoon. This led to one defendant, Tony Bartlett, being escorted to nearby Bristol Magistrates’ Court – where docks and cells were unaffected – to listen through a video link as he was convicted of murdering his baby son Atticus. Mr Justice Cavangh told jurors: “This is because the dock in this court is closed due to the heat, so he is in a court room in another building.” A spokesperson for HMCTS said: “We are working with judges and partners to continue operating safely during periods of extreme weather – this may mean that some hearings move to video if appropriate.” Elsewhere some trains have been cancelled and others will run at reduced speeds this week due to high temperatures. One train company warned customers to travel “only if essential” with temperatures expected to climb to the mid-30s in some areas later this week, according to the Met Office. East Midlands Railway (EMR) said customers should try to travel before 12pm this week to avoid the highest temperatures, expect disruption on the network and check for timetable changes before travelling. The company said regional services between Nottingham and Worksop, and Nottingham and Leicester, will be suspended from 12pm on Wednesday, to reduce the impact of the extreme temperatures on the railway. EMR added some other services are set to operate at reduced speeds for safety reasons. High temperatures can cause rails to buckle, overhead electric wires to sag and lineside fires, while steel rails can exceed 50C when the air temperature is 30C. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments