The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) has failed to benefit the most deprived UK citizens while their solicitors suffer from a lack of training in the legislation and are poorly funded, according to a report by Cardiff Law School.

Based on data garnered from 21 local solicitors - located in the deprived South Wales Cynon Valley - the report found that the HRA barely impacted on the drug and alcoholism-affected district.

Comparing Saturday nights in the local town to 'something from the Wild West', solicitors said 'the HRA is used less now than when it came out', and was sometimes seen as the 'last resort' argument for weak cases.

They criticised a lack of training and said that HRA cases are perceived as high profile and requiring a great deal of work, but attracting little funding.

There were consistent complaints about the lack of public funding and fears that the number of lawyers is dwindling as a result.

One respondent said: 'There are going to be fewer lawyers in Cynon Valley in ten years' time.'

Professor Phil Thomas of Cardiff Law School said the findings were not specific to the Welsh valleys.

He said: 'They probably reflect the position of many small practices in Britain that are struggling to provide a public service.

The HRA becomes a secondary issue within the daily exercise of maintaining a practice.'

Richard Stein, a partner with London-based human rights firm Leigh Day & Co, said: 'The hopes that the HRA would redress the balance of rights for deprived individuals has not been borne out.

It has raised new intellectual debates for lawyers but whether it makes much difference on the ground is debatable.'

Paul Conrathe, a partner with Croydon-based Coningsbys, said: 'The HRA offered the hope of protection for the most vulnerable people in society, but the interpretation the courts have given to what is a public body [and therefore affected by the HRA] has remained narrow and disappointing.'

Mr Justice Thomas, the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, said: 'This important study demonstrates how much needs to be done to help those in an area of significant social deprivation in the UK, who really ought to be the primary beneficiaries of the HRA.

A way must be found for this to be rectified.'

Jeremy Fleming