The unseasonably hot weather this week has taken its toll on the country’s lawyers, as they wilt in stuffy courtrooms and sweaty suits.

This tale of woe was recounted in one go in response to a tweet (sorry, a post on X) from @CrimeGirI who asked for war stories from the courts estate.

Leeds Crown Court appears to have been a particularly unpleasant experience in the heat, with the temperature gauge reportedly reaching 29C and cell staff saying that conditions down below were ‘like an oven’. The problem has not been helped by a burst pipe in the magistrates court next door forcing more prisoners into smaller spaces.

One court user reported that everyone to be out by 5pm as the excessive heat was making the wiring a fire risk.

At Maidstone Coroner’s Court the windows could not be opened, there was no air conditioning and the one fan available had to be turned off as the noise was interfering with the Teams call.

According to online respondents, Chelmsford Crown Court was ‘hideous’, the air conditioning blew up at Guildford Crown Court, Gloucester Family Court was ‘very sweaty’ and the temperature in Newcastle was so high ‘you would get locked up for keeping animals in these conditions’. There were plenty more horror stories of thermometers tipping over 30C in court buildings. 

The heat is apparently set to ease off from the middle of next week, so there is not long left to endure. And then it will just be a short wait for the first cold snap and the court’s heating systems to pack up.

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