Solicitor Mark Hatzer, 53, who is also a deputy district judge, has created a course for judges to aid them in identifying the signs of dementia. He is working with the Alzheimer’s Society to “flag up potential risks” of injustices.

Mr Hatzer, who is based in Manchester, is the main carer for his 83-year-old mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago.

He said dementia can make previously “placid” people “quite violent”.

“They may find themselves in the criminal justice system and at risk of suddenly having a criminal record,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“Often, due to a lack of legal aid funding, they will try and represent themselves, and if a judge has a busy court list and they’re under pressure to get through it, if someone offers a guilty plea, they may accept it unquestioningly. They need to be alerted to the warning signs and we should flag that this person potentially acted out of character.”

Danielle Freeman, community fundraiser with the charity, said: “With an ageing population and the incidence of dementia ever increasing, it’s extremely important that people are trained on how to identify the behaviours associated with dementia so that vulnerable people are dealt with appropriately and are supported.”