A CONVICTED rapist who bolted from court would now find escape impossible after secure docks were created in all the city's criminal courtrooms.

Bradley Tout vaulted out of an insecure dock in court three at Worcester Crown Court and went on the run for several days after he was convicted of a city rape.

However, work carried out over the weekend installing secure docks at Worcester Crown Court will eradicate the risk of other criminals making similar bids for freedom says the city's most senior judge.

Tout, then aged 20, of Durham Road, Ronkswood vaulted the dock in October 2018 following his conviction for the 'seedy' and 'sordid' sex attack on the 16-year-old in his car on December 27, 2016.

The girl had already been raped by Kulin Odedra in the same car on the same night.

Odedra raped her in Tout's car after he parked behind a skip in the car park of County Hall in Worcester. Tout then drove to another remote location near Warndon Villages, Worcester where Tout and Odedra carried out further rapes.

After his escape Tout eventually handed himself in and a further six months was added to his seven and a half year prison sentence for the rape itself.

The Worcester News, the only press in court, reported at the time how a member of Tout's family shouted 'he's innocent!'

Jury members, barristers, court staff, police officers in the case, dock officers and members of the public in the gallery above the court looked on in astonishment as the court's alarms rang out.

Seconds before he escaped Tout could be seen with both hands on the dock, which at the time was more than three feet high with an open section at the top.

With a sudden, violent motion he vaulted over the dock wall, catching his feet on the edge, stumbling slightly as he ran away. A dock officer was injured after falling over in pursuit of Tout.

The work means Worcester Crown Court now has secure docks in all three of its criminal courtrooms, not just court one. The floor to ceiling barriers will reduce risk of defendants escaping and provide added protection to security staff, witnesses and jurors.

Judge James Burbidge QC, the Honorary Recorder of Worcester and the city's most senior judge said: "This development to the fabric of those courts had been promised for some time. It is pleasing that it has now been achieved.

"Most crown courts across England & Wales have docks that are secure. That is to say docks where the detained person cannot scale railings at the front to escape from the dock and hence into the public areas of the courtroom and ultimately the court building and out of the building itself."

Judge Burbidge said the transparent barriers 'facilitate sight and audibility but not escape'.

He added: "The advantage of the fact that they are secure is that we are now able to list any case for trial within any of the three courtrooms. In seeking to assess what trials have priority in our limited trial court space it is a real benefit, when hitherto we had only one such court available.

"It is of particular importance in facilitating the ability in trying cases where an accused is already a serving prisoner or where an accused person is in custody on remand for a serious offence and is believed to be a flight risk.

"The ability of an accused to escape from custody when standing trial or indeed after trial or plea when receiving a custodial sentence that has or is being imposed in part to protect the public has been eradicated.

"This provides protection from injury: for the security staff employed within the cell block and docks; the staff, jurors and legal practitioners who are in attendance within the court and thereafter the public in attendance in the more general areas of the court building as well as the wider public outside the court building.

"The Worcester News reported on the case of Bradley Tout who in the not too distant past having been convicted of a serious offence jumped the dock and made good his escape into the community. Where he remained at large for about a week. Engaging in cost in police time and effort to seek to find him and also understandable concern in the community.

"Unfortunately the establishment of more secure docks will not enable the court to hold more trials but rather assists the management of listing them without the need of judges determining for listing purposes which accused’s case could not be listed until court 1 became free due to their potential risk to the public and staff. Thus witnesses or complainants in the more serious cases would often have longer to await the hearing of cases in which they were involved.

"In order to reduce the need to have those on remand in custody routinely produced for hearings such as for sentence, the court operates as frequently as possible remote hearings to the prison. This cuts down on risk to the public as well as expense in movement of prisoners. HMP Hewell has developed its video conference suite to facilitate many more hearings in this manner than that which could be previously held. Whilst sights of the prison vans traversing the counties will not be eradicated it has been greatly reduced."

A significant issue in managing trials within a timely fashion has been the Covid-19 pandemic. There was need to ensure that jurors could be kept at the appropriate social distance for their health and safety, especially in retirement when considering their verdicts. This meant only two of the three trial courts could be used for trials.

Judge Burbidge added: "Moreover the ability to engage in jury trials has been sorely hampered in the areas of Worcester and Hereford not just because of Covid but rather because the roof of the Shire Hall of Hereford collapsed in early 2020. This housed two of the jury trial courts for the area.

"It is not clear when these two courts will become available again after the remedial works. Efforts to find an additional location to hold a Nightingale Court in either Worcester or Hereford has sadly not been fruitful as yet despite strong community input and desire."