Swindon Magistrates' Court was unable to deal with custody cases for almost a fortnight, after a new lick of paint released toxic fumes into the cells.
Despite the contemporary facade shown in the image above, the Princes Street court dates back to the 1960s and requires regular maintenance and extensive modernisation.
Custody work was temporarily relocated to Salisbury Magistrates' Court, some 45 miles away. Some cases remaining at Swindon had to be dealt with by way of video link. The court was unable to remand bail breachers into custody, as there were no facilities to do so. Some advocates were unable to meet face to face with their clients.
The Ministry of Justice told the Swindon Advertiser: "Unfortunately due to maintenance, the cells at Swindon Magistrates' Court were unavailable from Tuesday 13th March to Wednesday 28th March. The cells are now back in use and all hearings have been dealt with either via video link or transported to Salisbury."
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