SMALL claims cases took less time to go to trial in West Yorkshire last year, new figures show.

Most civil court cases are small claims where a person is trying to get their money back for a faulty product, poor service or personal injury, when the sum involved is less than £10,000.

Ministry of Justice figures show the average time it took for such claims to go to trial between October and December in Huddersfield County Court was eight months and 26 days.

This was 41 days fewer than the same time the year before.

Overall, across England and Wales, it took longer than ever for small claims cases to reach court in the last quarter of last year - approximately one year and 26 days, significantly up from eight months and 20 days in 2019, and a nine per cent jump from 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.

Jonathan Scarsbrook, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers said: "While the pandemic has contributed to delays, it is not the sole cause. Delays have been on the increase for a long time."

A Government spokesperson said: "We are taking action to make sure civil cases are processed as quickly as possible, including the biggest ever recruitment drive for district judges."