Almost 500 criminal cases are still waiting to be dealt with at Southampton Crown Court.

New figures from the Ministry of Justice show that as of September 30, 2024, a heavy backlog exists across the country when it comes to crown court cases.

Across Hampshire's three crown courts, over 1,400 cases still need to be heard.

Southampton had 489 in the pipeline - behind Bournemouth’s 636 and Portsmouth’s 606.

Winchester’s court was only waiting to deal with 342, while Salisbury only had 136.

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Newport on the Isle of Wight had the lowest number in the area, as their court only has 120 left to get through.

Nationally, the largest backlog in the country is at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where 3,442 cases were waiting to be dealt with as of September 30, 2024.

Warrington Crown Court only had a backlog of two cases when figures were taken.