Criminal Law Solicitors in Hay On Wye

Hay-on-Wye sits right on the England-Wales border and, given its closeness to Hereford and the English feel of its book-town reputation, is sometimes assumed to fall under Herefordshire's courts and police. In fact, the town is in Powys, on the Welsh side of the border, and is policed by Dyfed-Powys Police rather than West Mercia; criminal cases are generally heard at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates' and Family Court, some distance away, rather than the nearer Hereford Magistrates' Court just across the border in England. The criminal law itself doesn't change at the border - England and Wales share the same court system and offences - but which force investigates, and which building a case is actually listed in, does. Hay-on-Wye's population swells considerably during its annual literary festival and through steady year-round tourism connected to its second-hand bookshops, and the criminal matters reaching local solicitors reflect a mix of the everyday - motoring offences on the winding roads in and out of town - and the occasional issue tied to the town's busier visitor periods. Anyone charged with an offence connected to Hay-on-Wye is best advised to check which force and which court are actually involved before assuming it's the nearer English one.