PRESTON'S Sessions House, the location for some of the country's most infamous Crown Court trials, is throwing its doors open to the public for free next week.

Sessions House, opposite the Guild Hall, is holding an open day on Saturday, September 8, from 10am to 4pm, to give people an opportunity to browse around the historic building.

Over the years people have witnessed some famous trials at Sessions House including the case of serial killer Harold Shipman last year and toddler James Bulger's killers, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in the early 1990s.

On both occasions The Citizen and other media camped outside the building to get a glimpse of the 'accused' while they were escorted into the building on each day of their trials.

Viewers across the globe tuned in day after day to see journalists giving their reports live from outside the turn-of-the-century building, updating the public on events in the infamous Court One.

The open day will be the first time for four years that the public has been given an opportunity to go behind the scenes of the landmark building.

Ian Smith, spokesman for the courts, said: "Days like these don't happen often. People who come will be able to see everything from the cells through to Court One where all the big cases have happened."

The tour will take members of the public through every aspect of the Sessions House, from a look inside one of the Group Four security vans used to transport prisoners to the courts, to a tour of the court rooms where famous prisoners have been sentenced.

Ian Smith said: "People will get the chance to see things they wouldn't normally be able to.

"They will be shown a video used to introduce juries to their job in the courts. There is even a toilet which has been classed as a listed building that people can see!"

People wishing to attend should turn up on the day to the entrance opposite the Guild Hall in Lancaster Road.