One in eight trials at Bolton Crown Court were delayed last year, according to new figures.

Findings from the Ministry of Justice show that of the 196 trials listed at Bolton Crown Court in 2021, 12 per cent were classed as ineffective, meaning they had to be adjourned to a later date.

But this was down from 14 per cent on the year before.

Law society president Stephanie Boyce 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.”

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 39 per cent trials at Bolton Crown Court last year were “cracked”, when the Crown Prosecution Service drops the case or the defendant pleads guilty, and 49 per cent were effective meaning the trial went ahead as planned.

Of the 23 ineffective trials at Bolton Crown Court last year, seven involved alleged violent offences, the most common type.