The trial of a mother accused of attempting to murder her two young sons was the first to be suspended at Bradford Crown Court today because of the fear of spreading coronavirus.

The woman, in her forties and from the Bradford area, is alleged to have tried to strangle and poison by gas the children.

Their mother is in a psychiatric hospital and would not have attended court for the hearing.

This morning, Judge Jonathan Rose adjourned the trial until a date to be fixed, telling the court: “We cannot try any cases that require a jury.”

The directive to suspend all jury trials came from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, as part of ongoing efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The mother, who faces four allegations of attempted murder, one for each child relating to both strangulation and gas poisoning, is subject to a Section 36 order under The Mental Health Act that means she is remanded in hospital for treatment instead of into prison.

Stephen Wood QC, for Crown, said the order expired on April 14 and it would be a “disaster” to send the woman back to prison.

Judge Rose said it could be a condition of her bail that she resided at the hospital until her trial.

He added that the procedure at Bradford Crown Court would be not to fix any new trials before January 2, 2021.

Existing trials that had to be pulled out of the list, including three from this morning, would be “slotted in” after September 1 this year. They will be listed in court from this Wednesday onwards to arrange new dates.

Judge Rose said that trials could be listed sooner if public health information changed in the coming weeks.

Lord Burnett, the most senior judge in England and Wales, previous said no new trials expected to last more than three days would go ahead.

But pressure from the legal profession mounted to suspend all trials.

Members of the public being selected to serve on a jury must line up together in the courtroom in close proximity and then sit side by side on the jury bench.

They are confined to one room when they retire and are often held crowded together “in the back” while legal points are raised by the barristers for the judge to decide on.

It is unclear at this time if the court will remain open for sentencing hearings.

Lord Burnett said that arrangements had been made to conduct as many cases as possible by phone, video link and other technology.

Jury trials already underway should continue if possible, but that did not apply at Bradford Crown Court where none was adjourned as “part heard” over the weekend.