I fully endorse the comments of Michael Freeman, regarding the county court system failure in London.

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, trial dates are supposed to be sacrosanct, yet my day-long case scheduled for the end of April was cancelled, causing additional expense and anxiety for my client.

The listings clerk indicated the court was heavily over-listed.

Justice delayed is, of course, justice denied.

Yet when my allocation questionnaire was three days late, the court was very swift to issue a debarring order.

At least some parts of the creaking system still appear to be up and running, albeit not the progressive parts.

Peter Hatvany, partner, Parker Bullen, Salisbury