A JUDGE erupted in fury after a shortage of security staff led to several cases being delayed at a Kent crown court on Friday.

One case before Judge Jeremy Carey at Maidstone Crown Court was put back by four hours because prisoners could not be taken from the cells in the basement of the building to courtrooms.

Judge Carey vowed to report all time wasted by Serco, the private company employed to transfer inmates from prison to court.

He branded the situation as “wholly unsatisfactory” but easily avoidable if Serco employed sufficient staff.

He said he would be asking other judges to report such matters so that it could be taken into account when contracts were renewed.

“Anyone who doesn’t sit in these courts must think we run an extraordinary operation here, just sitting around wasting hours,” said the judge.

He planned to calculate the exact minutes wasted and hoped that the constant “drip, drip” of complaints would have some effect.

But he added: “Three-and-a-half years of working here suggest one shouldn’t be wholly optimistic.”

Extra staff had to be drafted in from Canterbury Crown Court to ensure that cases went ahead.