Judge blasts case backlog as 'not good enough' as Leeds teen death-crash trial delayed until 2026

Georgia Bendelow, 18, was killed in the smash on Swillington Common in 2022, but 34-year-old Thomas Sherwood has denied causing her death by dangerous driving.

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week but was told his trial would not be heard until April 2026 at the earliest, almost four years on from her death.

While a shortage of prison places has hit the headlines in recent weeks, there are still tens of thousands of cases queuing to be heard in courts all across the country.

Judge Christopher Batty was unhappy at the delayed date for Sherwood’s trial and told the court: “It’s absolutely awful, it’s awful for him [the defendant], to the deceased’s family and those who have been injured. It’s not acceptable. It’s just not good enough.”

Turning to Sherwood he said: “I’m really sorry to say your trial will not take place for such a long period of time. We are absolutely snowed under. We are running 14 courts and we just can’t fit the work in any sooner.

“It’s little comfort to you or anybody in the public gallery.”

Miss Bendelow was critically injured in the crash involving a white BMW M3 and a red Seat Mii on the A63 Selby Road, at Swillington Common, on August 31, 2022. The BMW driven by Sherwood was heading in the direction of Garforth from Crossgates.

A passenger in the Seat, Miss Bendelow was taken to hospital by air ambulance but died two days later. Sherwood also denied two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and causing death by driving while uninsured.

Meanwhile, The Law Society confirmed that there were 1,963 outstanding cases to be heard at Leeds Crown Court at the end of 2023, but said no updated figures for Leeds have been made available by the Ministry of Justice.

Nationally, figures taken from the end of April of this year show there were an eye-watering 68,125 outstanding cases in the crown courts, and 387,042 in the magistrates’ courts.

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President Richard Atkinson told the Evening Post: “There are huge backlogs in our criminal courts with reports of trials being listed for spring 2027. It is completely unacceptable that victims and defendants must wait so long for justice.

“Decades of underinvestment and cuts have led to this dire situation which can only be reversed if the courts are able to run at full capacity and there are sufficient prison spaces to support the courts’ work.

“However, this is not possible when the courtrooms themselves are crumbling, judges’ sitting days are limited and the exodus of defence lawyers continues because of underfunded criminal legal aid.

“Compounding the crisis is the fact that quarterly data about the criminal courts backlog has not been released this year. You cannot solve a problem, if you cannot measure it.”