Heat forces trial adjournments

Soaring summer temperatures caused disruption in court with the heat forcing two trials to be adjourned.

Air conditioning at Leicester Crown Court struggled to cope as the mercury rose.

Judge John Burgess told a jury hearing an indecent assault case to go home at 3pm as temperatures nudged 77F in court one.

"I understand the air conditioning system cannot cope with the temperatures endured today," he told the panel.

"It would be far more humane to send you home and start again tomorrow."

It was a similar story in court two where jurors deliberating verdicts at the end of a three-month trial sent a note to Judge Charles Wide QC.

The panel, in the second day of deliberations on charges against eight people accused of conspiracy to cause GBH, complained that conditions in the jury room were "intolerable".

They could not concentrate without air conditioning or windows being opened and the temperature inside was well into the 80s.

As counsel and the judge discussed how to proceed, Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, for one of the defendants, suggested buying a portable air conditioning system like those on sale in markets "for about £100".

But Judge Wide said: "We have already made inquiries. It appears there has been a bit of a run on them."

Most watched News videos