A YORK hotel will become home to a new makeshift court to help clear the backlog of cases exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hilton Hotel in York is one of the latest buildings to become a Nightingale court, opening on September 28, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

It is understood the hotel will hear family cases.

Other sites set to become temporary courts include The Lowry in Salford and Jury’s Inn in Middlesbrough.

A further five are earmarked for Chester, Liverpool, Bristol, Winchester and Cirencester and could open next month but the sites are yet to be confirmed.

It comes as the director of public prosecutions Max Hill warned delays in cases coming to court are “corrosive” as they force victims to wait for justice.

He suggested carrying out more remote hearings could be part of the answer to tackling the growing backlog as it emerged some courts are currently listing trials for 2023.

Courts in England and Wales are grappling with a waiting list of around half a million cases after courts being forced to shut during lockdown added to existing delays.

The total number of Nightingale courts now stands at 17, providing 32 court rooms, the MoJ said, with the existing sites operating at 80 per cent capacity, which is higher than the average court prior to the pandemic.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland hailed the “important step” in the recovery plan but added: “We must keep going if we are to get our courts back up to speed.”

Magistrates’ courts are now dealing with some 21,000 cases a week while crown courts are clearing more than 1,700 cases at the same time and holding more than 100 jury trials.

Since the beginning of August, an extra 1,000 cases have been heard with extended sittings on Saturdays. Liverpool, Hull, Stafford and Snaresbrook crown courts are testing out longer sitting hours, with more expected to follow.

Plastic screens are being installed in 300 court rooms and rooms used for jury deliberations, allowing 250 crown courts to reopen for trials, which the MoJ said is more than were operating before the pandemic.

The Government has also pledged to install more technology to allow extra remote hearings to take place.