Two new courtrooms have been opened in Scotland's largest city due to an "unprecedented" rise in cases

The additional spaces at the High Court in Glasgow, which cost £2m, were opened on Friday and were formally inaugurated by Scotland's most senior judge.

The courtrooms were added due to a "significant increase" in the reporting and detection of crimes "particularly sexual offences" in recent years, according to the court service.

The court service says the increase reflects "proactive policing and prosecution and greater victim confidence to report crimes" including historic sexual and physical abuse.

A rise in the complexity of cases also means more court time is needed as well as fewer guilty pleas before trial.

As a result there has been a 60% increase in the number of high court cases that proceed to trial over the last four years.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) says this increase "is unprecedented".

There are now eight trial courts and one preliminary hearing court in Saltmarket, in Glasgow and three high court centres in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The cost of adapting the Grade A listed building to create two new courtrooms along with the associated accommodation for jury rooms, jury dining, judges' chambers, witness rooms and custody holding cells adjacent to the new courts within the existing court building was just under £2m.

Scotland's most senior judge, Lord Carloway, said: "These new courtrooms are much needed and together with planned high court accommodation as part of the new Inverness Justice Centre, meet our aim of ensuring that the majority of high court trials take place in dedicated specialist facilities across Scotland that are designed to meet the needs of the modern trial, with appropriate security and technology to support the presentation of digital evidence.

"However, continually creating court capacity is not sustainable and instead we must look to the radical reform of current processes, which are identified in the SCTS Evidence and Procedure Review - Next Steps report.

"Since the publication of that report the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has, through further wide-ranging collaboration, revised and reviewed the recommendations and will soon announce initial steps designed, for example, to remove vulnerable children from our courtrooms."

The lord president added: "These courtrooms have been designed with the future in mind. The presiding judge will have the facility to view pre-recorded testimony, both examination in chief and cross-examination, of children and other vulnerable witnesses, as well as other audio-visual statements admitted as evidence of fact.

"In the courts of the future, active case management by Judges will make sure cases are prepared and ready to proceed on the day that they first call in court for trial. There will be agreement in advance to ensure that only contentious evidence requires to be heard.

"Digital evidence and remote hearings from prisons and other venues will be routine. These changes will provide justice more directly, more effectively and more efficiently.

"Radical reform, exploiting the opportunity which digital technology presents, is needed to make sure we continue to have a justice system that matches public expectations in the 21st century."