A DVD has been launched in bid to reduce the number of court cases in North Yorkshire which stall because witnesses refuse to testify.

Her Majesty's Courts Service has developed the interactive, multilingual and animated DVD to help witnesses and victims understand their crucial role in the court process.

Going To Court: A Step By Step Guide To Being A Witness is an easy-to-follow animation seen through the eyes of a witness.

It explains why victims and witnesses are so important in the court process and what they will do while at court. It has separate routes for prosecution and defence witnesses to follow at their own pace and witnesses can also tour a magistrates, crown and youth court.

Dyfed Foulkes, area director of the courts service in North Yorkshire, said: "The Going To Court DVD demystifies the court process in a clear and helpful way, promoting confidence among those people facing a court appearance.

"It contains vital information for any witness attending court and I believe that it will lead to a much improved quality of service for victims and witnesses."

The multilingual DVD recognises the diverse backgrounds of court users, and can be viewed in English, Welsh, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and British Sign Language, all on one disc.

Anyone in North Yorkshire can ask to view the DVD at any magistrates' court or at York Crown Court. Alternatively, they can contact the Witness Care Unit for York and North Yorkshire on 01904 731836 to request a copy.

The animation can also be viewed online at http://video.direct.gov.uk/goingtocourtvideo/ where it is available in the same languages as the DVD but also in Polish.

Courts Minister Maria Eagle said: "We recognise that going to court can be a daunting experience. For many witnesses the court is an unfamiliar environment and can be quite frightening, especially for those who have been called to give evidence for the first time.

"This DVD is an important step in addressing and responding to witness and victim anxiety."

An evaluation of a pilot scheme found that most people who saw the DVD felt more confident in going to court, and more than half would encourage others to attend court as a witness.

Figures from 2006-2007showed that at York Crown Court 12.1 per cent of trials did not go ahead when planned for a range of reasons - including witnesses failing to turn up. At magistrates courts in North Yorkshire 14.3 per cent of trials did not go ahead when planned. The Press told in October 2006 how prosecutors were looking into problems that were causing trials in York to be scrapped or postponed at the last minute, after a report by the National Audit Office revealed North Yorkshire had one of the worst records for "cracked or ineffective trials" - with 17 per cent failing to go ahead on the planned day.