What are Blitz courts?

So-called Blitz courts are being expanded across England and Wales.

A number of courts across the two countries have been holding regular blitz hearings since April. A single judge hears multiple criminal cases every day instead of just one. There is no jury.

Often the Blitz court cases are grouped together by type; sex offences in one set of hearings, and assaults on emergency workers in another.

They are not a new idea. Blitz hearings are sometimes used to speed up cases in exceptional circumstances, such as after the 2011 summer riots in England, which saw large numbers of public disorder hearings.

But will they help ease the delays crisis in the criminal courts in England and Wales?

Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Producers Ravi Naik and Ivana Davidovic
Editor: Damon Rose