A magistrates court was hit by flooding forcing cases due to be heard at the courthouse to be moved elsewhere.
A leak in the plumbing at Cardiff Magistrates Court caused the building to become partially flooded, with the court "operating at reduced capacity" on Friday (March 24).
WalesOnline understands that the water from the leak was quickly ascertained to not be sewage, but rather excess water from showers and sinks in the building.
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The flooding caused disruption within the magistrates court on Friday, with some cases having to be moved to other nearby courthouses including Cardiff Crown Court. Repair work is currently being carried out in the building on Fitzalan Place, with cases next set to be heard on Monday morning.
An HM Courts and Tribunal spokesperson apologised for the disruption and said that teams were working "urgently" to resolve the flooding issue. Get the latest court cases sent to your email inbox with our Crime & Punishment newsletter
"Cardiff Magistrates’ Court is currently operating at reduced capacity due to flooding," they said. "Affected cases are being heard in other nearby courts while we urgently work to resolve the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.”
The disruption comes amid a continued backlog of criminal court cases across the country, with a parliamentary debate on the matter in February hearing that there are currently around 350,000 outstanding cases in the UK's magistrates' courts. This is almost six times as many as there are in the crown courts, where the backlog currently stands at around 60,000.
Last summer's barristers strike also saw a record proportion of trials postponed at Cardff Crown Court. According to Ministry of Justice figures, between July and September last year, 56 per cent of the trials listed at the courthouse were 'ineffective', meaning that they were postponed and moved to a later date.
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