A multi-faith team has been set up to offer spiritual guidance to magistrates’ court staff, defendants and their families.

The Reverend Dr Barry Barton and Mohammed Latif Mir, who is the chaplain at Lynfield Mount Hospital and for Bradford Teaching Hospitals, were introduced as the first court chaplains in the Bradford Court Chaplaincy Service (BCCS).

They will train chaplains of other faiths to offer “spiritual and practical support”, said Mary Carroll JP, chairman of the trustees.

The chaplaincy service will also work with voluntary groups and health professionals to offer help to drug and alcohol abusers and people with mental health problems who often have nowhere to turn.

Mrs Carroll said: “What makes our scheme different is that it will be full-time, it will be multi-faith and it will be independent of any single religious group.

“We think there is an enormous need for this service to deal with the mass of human pain and misery we see everyday in this court.”

Lord Patel of Bradford, honorary president of the BCCS, said he was “honoured” to have been involved with setting up the service.

Lord Patel, an expert on drug use in Bradford’s Muslim community, said: “This is something that is very close to my heart and touches on areas I have been closely involved with for a long time – issues of crime, illegal drug use and mental health.” He added: “I really believe in the value of this service and the unique contribution it can make.”