The cases will move to magistrate courts in Lincoln and Spalding

Three magistrates courts in Lincolnshire are closing after a review board decided they are not used enough.

The decision to close the courts in Horncastle, Caistor and Long Sutton comes after a four-month review by the county's magistrates courts committee.

Committee spokesman Dennis Martin said the courts had poor facilities and were under-used.

"They don't really reach the standards we would expect in this day and age.

'Sad day'

"Most people using the courts are travelling to them from cars, so local people are actually not using them very often."

He said other magistrate courts in the county had better facilities, and were going to be further improved.

It is a sad day for Horncastle when one of its longstanding institutions is going to close Janet Richardson Editor, Horncastle News

He said the Caistor and Horncastle courts needed expensive upgrading, while the Long Sutton court had been effectively closed since last year.

Janet Richardson, editor of Horncastle News, which led a campaign opposing the closure in Horncastle, said the local residents would be disappointed at the decision.

"It is a sad day for Horncastle when one of its longstanding institutions is going to close.

"We have lost our cattle market and hospital in recent years," she said.

The cases from these courts will now be heard in Lincoln or Spalding instead.

The Long Sutton court will close at the end of next month, while the Caistor and Horncastle courts will close at the end of the year.