A judge has again had to move out of his court after the ceiling sprung a leak from the barristers’ “facilities” above.

It happened yesterday as Judge Jeremy Carey was about to embark on a rape trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

Nineteen months ago the Resident Judge was angered when during a trial the ceiling sprung a leak for the third time from overflowing toilets because of poor maintenance.

An alarmed barrister and juror revealed they had been dripped on.

In the latest mishap, the judge was able to transfer his case to another court in the building that was not in use.

“I have had to move courts yet again,” he told lawyers. “My court is out of action. The facilities in the barristers’ area are not functioning as they should, and so we have dripping from the roof.

“Clearly, there will have to be industrial cleaning in that area. I am not convinced it has stopped dripping. It has to be decontaminated.”

The judge had suggested that the case might move to a vacant court at Canterbury Crown Court but the idea was rejected after consulting jurors.

As a result, the trial has not been able to continue today so far.

When leaks happened in August 2014, Judge Carey complained that hundreds of pounds were being lost in court time because of poor maintenance.

“When you read about the cost of public services you never hear about the court service,” he told jurors. “Nobody cares about the court service.

“I must be careful. There is a limited amount of people who care about the court service. This building is not being properly maintained.

“It is false economy to cut expenditure because we lose time. We lose court time which costs hundreds of pounds an hour.

“Nobody seems to listen to me so I am venting my frustration on you. You heard it from the horse’s mouth.”