Abingdon, Wantage and Henley magistrates' courts are to close - but Thame will stay open, it has been announced.

The news comes as a particular blow to the Vale of White Horse. People will lose both their courts and will have to travel to Didcot or Oxford instead.

All four courts have been under threat since a report suggested each failed to meet certain criteria set by inspectors working on behalf of the Berkshire and Oxfordshire Magistrates' Courts Committee.

A special meeting of the committee decided to close Abingdon, Wantage and Henley on Monday (June 8) - but held back on publicly revealing their decision until today (Wed, June 10).

The Abingdon court room, which lies within The Guildhall and has served the town for hundreds of years, had been singled out in a committee report as being unsuitable for administering local justice. Town councillors had slammed the plan to close it, pointing out the Abingdon court served a bigger population than Didcot.

Ben Ballard, chairman of the Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage magistrates' bench, had urged people in the town to make their feelings known.

He said: "We are disappointed. People at Abingdon will now have to travel out of the town, which is unfortunate."

"It is almost a Government decision in the end. There is not much I can do about it. They (the committee) are directed on what money they have got.

"Courts are being closed all over the country."

He added: "We are sad rather than anything else."

While Abingdon and Henley's courts are likely to close early next year, Wantage is likely to stay open longer. The committee wants to keep it open until a feasibility study is carried out on the facilities available at Didcot.

Mr Ballard believes Abingdon court users may therefore be asked to travel to Wantage as well.

Thame will be retained, with people who used to attend court in Henley expected to travel to the town, as well as to Didcot.

Stella Roberts, chief executive of the committee, said: "We regret that these decisions will lead to further change and disruption being caused to magistrates, staff and users and we will do all we can to resolve these issues as soon as possible."

The committee will meet on July 20 to discuss a timetable for the closures.

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