Knives were smuggled past security and into courtrooms on 10 separate occasions in the space of nine months last year, the Gazette has discovered.

A freedom of information request has uncovered security breaches in courts across England and Wales between April and December 2012.

Ten visitors were found to be carrying a knife, despite going through security checks on entering the building.

Inside the courtroom, there were two reported assaults on security staff and one on a legal professional. The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents court staff, has begun a national survey to ask its members about violence in court.

A spokesman said: ‘All court staff and users have a right not to feel threatened, or be abused or attacked, or we risk undermining the integrity of, and access to, our justice system.’

However Richard Atkinson, chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said security was already ‘very tight’. ‘There is a balance to be struck here; 10 is a very low number and you could find yourself in very invasive searches if the security is any tighter.’

A spokesman for HM Courts & Tribunals Service said there is a ‘robust security and safety system’ in place to protect court users and the judiciary against any risks.