Court authorities expect to reopen facilities in Nottingham tomorrow after the doors were unexpectedly closed today.

Trials due to be heard at Nottingham Crown and County Court were adjourned due to heating and fire alarm issues. HM Courts & Tribunals said cases will be relisted as soon as possible and that relevant court users are being kept updated.

The issues started yesterday with a defective boiler causing temperatures in some courts to drop so low that they had to be closed. A fire alarm fault was detected today, resulting in the temporary closure of the whole building.

An HMCTS spokesperson said: ‘Maintenance works are taking place to restore the systems as soon as possible and we expect the court to reopen tomorrow.’

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The Nottingham Post reported that ushers, barristers and jurors arrived from 9am today to be told the building was closed. The paper said that over the past week prisoners had not been allowed in the cells as they were too cold, causing trials, pleas and sentencing hearings to be adjourned.

In an investigation published yesterday, the Post reported there had been problems at the Nottingham court with the roof, toilets, lift and heating. One judge had told a defendant that the cells were ‘not fit for purpose’ as they were ‘freezing cold’.

Last year it was reported that small claims were taking more than a year to reach trial in part because of the state of the crumbling court estate.

Law Society research found that 47% of court users experienced a case delay and adjournment in the preceding 12 months and 28% said the courts estate was not fit for purpose.