It’s not just the criminals who get short-shifted by solicitors in the courts of law.

The legal personnel sitting at this week’s Haverfordwest Magistrates Court didn’t have a good word to say for the Bench after the person who was supposed to be chairing Tuesday’s sitting rang up to say she was in England.

As a result, the Crown Prosecutor, solicitors, court clerk, defendants and prisoners were left twiddling their thumbs for over an hour as staff contacted as many serving Pembrokeshire magistrates as they could think of.

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Eventually at 11.30am, which was 90 minutes after the day's proceedings were due to commence, long-serving magistrate Mrs Mary Smith took charge of the Bench after being summoned in from her morning's gardening.