A 'BATTLE royal' is forecast after plans to axe magistrates' courts in Okehampton and Tavistock sparked outrage in West Devon.
West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett said: 'There will be a battle royal to fight for local justice in local areas.
'Everything is wrong with this preposterous decision, it is short-sighted and ill-judged.'
Mr Burnett had an emergency meeting last Saturday with fellow Liberal Democrat MPs and councillors to work out a strategy to fight the closures.
On Tuesday he intervened in a Commons debate on rural magistrates' courts.
He told Jane Kennedy, Lord Chancellor's minister: 'Justice should be done and seen to be done locally.
'The courts are an important part of the rural infrastructure — far from making financial savings the closures will cause additional expenditure and wasted time by the police and witnesses in longer journeys on very poor roads which have virtually no public transport.'
Mr Burnett also spoke up for rural justice on the floor of the House during Tuesday afternoon.
'The Minister said she agreed that one of the main advantages of rural magistrates courts are that justice is done locally — I pointed out what was happening and asked her to be sure to pass that on to the magistrates' court committee,' he said.
If the cuts go ahead, central and West Devon would be left without a courthouse — attendees would have to travel to Barnstaple or Plymouth.
Chairman of the magistrates for West Devon Peter Hill has vowed to do all he can to try and keep a court presence in Okehampton.
If the proposals go ahead, people in the Okehampton area will have to attend court in Exeter, which could mean anything from a 50 to 80-mile round trip.
'The court covers an area which extends down to the Cornish border. If people do not have their own transport, they may have to make two or three bus changes and there is no guarantee they will be able to get to Exeter for say 10am, let alone get home again on the same day.
'With the nearest courts at Plymouth, Barnstaple and Exeter, there will be this great space in central Devon without a magistrates' court.'
Mr Hill said he knew the crime rates were not very high in West Devon but the court was there for a number of other purposes including licensing matters.
'Rural people seem to be coming more and more sidelined and their concerns are not being picked up by people who have the power to make life easier,' he said.
A magistrate of 29 years, Mr Hill is also chairman of the West Devon bench.
It is his fear that some people might not be able to get to the court in Exeter and failure to attend court would constitute another offence.
Mr Hill said defendants might opt to plead guilty when they are in fact innocent because of the cost of getting to court.
The magistrate said the Lord Chancellor judged the efficiency of courts on how many courtrooms there were and the amount they were in use.
At Okehampton a room in the West Devon Borough Council offices was used as a court one day a week plus one extra day a month for the family court.
'The use is quite high for the days we are there and to that extent it is valuable,' added Mr Hill. 'It is not as if it is a proper courthouse lying idle for four days out of five.
'As a tax payer one gets a little fed up with numerous public buildings which are not utilised properly being paid for by taxpayers' money — well this one is being utilised.
'There is a very strong case to be made to keep a court presence in Okehampton and I shall be trying my hardest to see what can be done.'
He has urged people to make their voices heard during the consultation process.
'If people make very little noise it will be taken as a sign that people are not worried and the proposals will go ahead,' he said.
John Maunder, chairman of the magistrates courts committee, said: 'We appreciate that many people will feel courthouse closures have a profound effect on their community.
'However, we need to deliver an excellent service for the whole of Devon and Cornwall, which we believe will be best served by focusing our progressively reducing funding on a smaller number of premises offering better facilities, especially for the disabled.'
The committee will consider the views put forward until March 29 — it expects to finalise plans on April 13.