North Yorkshire has nine new members of the judiciary following a ceremony at York Crown Court in the presence of the county's Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff.

The Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC, welcomed magistrates to his courtroom because York Magistrates Court is closed for flood repairs.

Nine North Yorkshire people swore their oaths of loyalty to the Queen and pledged to dispense justice fairly and without regard to rank or status as justices of the peace, also watched by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Barry Dodd, and the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, Charles Forbes Adam.

They will sit alongside two experienced magistrates who have joined the North Yorkshire Bench from Benches elsewhere in the country.

The 11 new North Yorkshire magistrates are: Brian Hoffman, Andrea Jackson and Jonothan Plotnek, who will generally sit at Scarborough Magistrates Court, David Rang, who has moved from Sussex and will generally sit at Harrogate Magistrates Court and Lynn Dunne, Sylvia Hargreaves, Kirsty Madden, Stuart Pudney, Michael Taylor and Jacqueline Warburton, who will usually sit at Northallerton Magistrates Court, alongside Miranda Mawer, who has moved into the county from Norfolk.

The swearing-in ceremony happens every year as the Bench fills the places of magistrates who retire or move out of the area.

Previous ceremonies in York have taken place at the Courthouse in Clifford Street, home of York and Selby magistrates.

But it is currently out of action following the floods and is not expected to be open against until April 4. Meanwhile, magistrates are sitting in Leeds.

All North Yorkshire magistrates are members of a single bench, which means that they can sit at any magistrates court in the county, though they will tend to sit at their main court.