A RECORD number of trials at Bournemouth Crown Court did not go ahead on their scheduled date last year, figures show.

The Law Society said the record high proportion of ineffective trials across England and Wales will cause "unacceptable" delays for victims and warned government underfunding is a key cause.

Ministry of Justice figures show there were 323 trials listed at Bournemouth Crown Court in 2021.

Of them, 29 per cent were classed as ineffective, meaning they had to be adjourned to a later date, up from 19 per cent the year before, and the most since records began in 2010.

Trials can be labelled as ineffective for many reasons, including the defence or prosecution not being ready, witnesses being absent or “overlisting” – which means some cases will only be heard if court time becomes available.

A further 25 per cent of trials at Bournemouth Crown Court last year were cracked, when the Crown Prosecution Service drops the case or the defendant pleads guilty, and 45 per cent were effective meaning the trial went ahead as planned.

The Law Society of England and Wales said victims are facing "unacceptable" delays and some are being forced to wait years for justice, while potentially innocent defendants are also left in limbo.

Stephanie Boyce, president of the Law Society, said: "Decades of underfunding and cuts mean there simply aren’t enough judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers left to cover the huge backlog of cases.

“Defence lawyers will continue to leave the profession in their droves, and we will no longer have a criminal justice system worthy of the name, unless the Government changes tack urgently.”

She said swift investment is needed across the criminal justice system to get it back on its feet.

Of the 95 ineffective trials at Bournemouth Crown Court last year, 32 involved alleged violent offences – the most common type.

This was followed by robbery offences (11) and possession of weapons.