COURTS form part of the bedrock of our society. They are the place where crimes are punished, disputes resolved and families’ futures decided.

 

The government has announced Pontefract Magistrates’ Court and Pontefract County Court are facing the axe in a cost-cutting cull of “underused and inadequate” facilities “which do not fit the needs of modern communities”.

 

Under the plans, the work of both courts – which deal with hundreds of cases a week – will be transferred to facilities in Wakefield.