THE number of arrests in Scotland's two biggest cities were down by around a quarter ahead of strike action by court staff, lawyers have claimed.

Solicitors in Glasgow and Edinburgh said the number of people due to appear in court from police custody following incidents at the weekend was significantly lower than normal.

Monday's industrial action was the latest in a series of rolling strikes by court workers.

It is understood Police Scotland decided against holding some accused who would normally have been taken into custody to help limit the disruption caused by the industrial action.

However, the force said any decisions ensured there was "no potential for risk or harm to the community".

Figures from Glasgow Sheriff Court, which is the busiest in Scotland, showed just 74 people were scheduled to appear in the custody court on Monday. Lawyers claimed they would normally expect to see in excess of 100.

The numbers were also down at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where just 47 were due to appear compared to the usual number of between 70 and 90.

Martin Hughes, past president of the Glasgow Bar Association, also claimed one of his clients who was taken in on a warrant was unusually released on an undertaking to appear at a later date because of the industrial action.

He said: "My client was arrested on a warrant and I had a phonecall telling me that he might be released on an undertaking because of the potential industrial action and he was then released.

"That's pretty much unheard of. Actually it's so unusual, it's almost entirely exceptional."

Commenting on the low number of custody cases overall, he added: "The prospect of industrial action taking place by the clerks seems to have had a bizarre effect on the number of crimes being committed in Glasgow - maybe they should go on strike more often."

Edinburgh solicitor Paul Dunne added that the number of people on the custody court list there was "surprisingly low for a Monday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court".

The two lawyers also reported further disruption to the court due to the strike, including fewer courts running and cases being adjourned.

Mr Hughes added Glasgow Sheriff Court was operating on a "skeletal basis".

The action, in protest at Government cost-cutting, was timed to coincide with the busiest day of the week for courts as the number of custody cases is usually high following arrests over the weekend.

The Scottish Court Service (SCS) confirmed some courts offered a "limited service" because of the action, with no public counter service being provided in Stornoway, Glasgow, Greenock, Kilmarnock, Airdrie, Ayr, Lanark and Alloa.

An SCS spokesman said "joint planning with justice partners" ensured no cases were lost.

He added: "As part of our contingency planning with justice partners, some routine civil and criminal business was adjourned in advance of Monday to ensure that all essential business could be dealt with."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "It's clearly important for Police Scotland to work with its partners in the justice system to ensure that planning is in place so that people in custody are managed appropriately and that arrangements are in place to ensure that business continues effectively.

"All decisions made about custodial status were based on the Lord Advocate's guidelines and ensured there was no potential for risk or harm to the community."

This is not the first time police have taken this course of action.

In 2012, when defence lawyers went on strike over controversial legal aid changes, officers at the then Strathclyde and Tayside forces were encouraged to consider "alternative disposals" to custody.

However, Strathclyde Police, who was at that time headed up Police Scotland chief constable Sir Stephen House, said it regularly reminded officers of other options at their disposal.

The strike action came as smaller courts across the country prepared for closure as part of a major cost-cutting exercise.

Courts in Haddington in East Lothian, Peebles and Duns in the Borders and Dingwall in the Highlands are scheduled to close this week.

Eric McQueen, Chief Executive of the SCS, said: "Our focus is on building a stronger court service which improves access to justice, reduces delays and costs, and maximises the use of technology to improve our services. We are now successfully delivering on that.

"The court closures have involved difficult decisions, but the status quo was not an option - we cannot make progress by avoiding change."