1,704 items were seized at Maidstone Crown Court

by Dan Bloomdbloom@thekmgroup.co.uk

Three guns were among more than 5,000 banned items people tried to sneak into Kent’s courts last year.

Security staff prevented the firearms - as well as two replica guns - being taken into magistrates’ courts in Canterbury, Chatham and Dartford.

The revelation came as court bosses revealed details of all items confiscated at all of Kent’s courts in 2010.

Countywide the haul included 750 knives, 739 alcoholic drinks and 302 household tools – but also 1,389 “other items”.

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), which released the data under the Freedom of Information Act, could not confirm what the other items were.

But it is thought they ranged from drugs to more mundane objects.

HMCTS spokesman Julie McCallen said: “It’s down to the judgement of the security guards as to how they judge the individual coming in.

"One person’s umbrella can be very different to another person’s umbrella.

“We’re not able to confirm what the items were, as the information is provided to HMCTS by the security company responsible.”

One of the more unusual items was found in August, when a woman was let off with a police caution after she admitting carrying pepper spray in her bag.

"we take the issue of security within courts very seriously ” – hmcts spokesman

The 41-year-old, from Gillingham, was also found to have a small quantity of cannabis when she was arrested at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

An HMCTS spokesman added: “We take the issue of security within courts very seriously and have a rigorous system in place to ensure the safety of all court users.

“This includes mandatory bag searches, and the use of metal detectors and surveillance cameras. If an item could be used as a weapon, it will be confiscated.”

Also seized last year were 1,917 cameras and 385 audio recorders, which are banned from courts under a law dating back to 1925.

Meanwhile it was Maidstone’s Combined Court Centre, which tries the county’s most serious crimes, which took the contraband crown.

Confiscated objects numbered 1,704 – including almost half the county’s haul of knives.