A disillusioned magistrate spoke out against the Lord Chancellor's soft stance on burglars yesterday.

Margaret Forbes, 63, has been a JP since 1983 and has seen numerous changes in the justice system.

But now she is assessing her future after controversial plans to release first time burglars by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf.

Mrs Forbes said: "The public has expressed its anger and I think that discontent has spread to people like me in the justice system.

"I am in a perfect position to see how people's lives are devastated by burglars and the idea of letting them off is abhorrent.

"It gives the perpetrators of these offences the impression that they can have one free try before they are actually dealt with.

"I would find it very difficult to have to let a burglar walk out of my court, knowing the distress they must have caused."

Widow Mrs Forbes, a mother of three, sits on the bench in Sunderland, where she also serves as a Conservative councillor for the St Michael's ward.

She said she felt the role of the magistrate was being eroded under the current administration.

Mrs Forbes said: "I am having a debate with myself about where my future lies.

"The independence and discretion of the local magistrates is being dminished all the time."